Kushan (Homeworld)

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==Biography==
 
==Biography==
 
===Origin===
 
===Origin===
The Kushan were a people descended from the '''Hiigarans''' that originated from the Inner Rim world of '''Hiigara'''. Long ago, they once ruled the Hiigaran empire that was divided into a number of extended families that commanded a great deal of territory. Among the conquering empires, the Hiigarans war fleets were noted to had easily shattered the defences of their neighbours and bringing them under the control of their ruling council that was the '''Diamid'''. Within the same region of space, they encountered the [[Taiidan]]] that were rivals with the two having a number of disputes. Each respective empire had been built on assimilating those worlds around them.  The border worlds were a source of bitter dispute between the two empires with conflict long raging over their ownership. The Hiigarans were one of the many races that erupted into conflict across the galaxy that challenged the fragile peace made by the Bentusi. This period saw the formation of the '''Galactic Council''' with the Hiigarans being one of the founding members. One of the matters that was brought to this body was the disputed border worlds between Hiigaran and Taiidani space. The Taiidan representative was believed to had made bribes and other overtures to convince the Council to side with them. Thus, the worlds were awarded to the Taiidan empire with a 30 year exclusion zone being instituted that prevented the Hiigaran fleet from approaching it or they would face reprisal from the Galactic Council.
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The Kushan were a people descended from the '''Hiigarans''' that originated from the Inner Rim world of '''Hiigara'''. Long ago, they once ruled the Hiigaran empire that was divided into a number of extended families that commanded a great deal of territory. Among the conquering empires, the Hiigarans war fleets were noted to had easily shattered the defences of their neighbours and bringing them under the control of their ruling council that was the '''Diamid'''. Within the same region of space, they encountered the [[Taiidan]]] that were rivals with the two having a number of disputes. Each respective empire had been built on assimilating those worlds around them.  The border worlds were a source of bitter dispute between the two empires with conflict long raging over their ownership. The Hiigarans were one of the many races that erupted into conflict across the galaxy that challenged the fragile peace made by the Bentusi. This period saw the formation of the '''Galactic Council''' with the Hiigarans being one of the founding members. One of the matters that was brought to this body was the disputed border worlds between Hiigaran and Taiidani space. The Taiidan representative was believed to had made bribes and other overtures to convince the Council to side with them. Thus, the worlds were awarded to the Taiidan empire with a 30 year exclusion zone being instituted that prevented the Hiigaran fleet from approaching it or they would face reprisal from the Galactic Council. The Hiigarans being impotent before the Council would have remained the state of affairs had a discovery into the '''Great Wastelands''' had not uncovered a relic of great importance. Exploration of that uncharged region of space led to the discovery of the '''Hyperspace Core''' within a crystalline lattice. This offered the Hiigarans the power of Far Jumping that was a technology only available to the Bentusi and gave them the means of attaining their vengeance against the Taiidan along with the opportunity to reclaim their lost worlds. After reverse engineering the technology, they installed the Hyperspace Core in a flagship named ''Sajuuk's Wrath''. The Hiigaran Navy was reorganised into a single main force in order to utilise the Far Jumping capabilities to its maximum potential. With it, the Hiigarans were able to bypass the Taiidan forces on the border and strike at their inner colonies. Patrols and garrisons faced the full Hiigaran fleet with any threat being destroyed. By the time the reports reached the Taiidan homeworld, the Hiigaran forces had arrived in orbit with the Taiidan Elite Guard being eliminated. The Hiigaran fleet then proceeded to conduct orbital bombardment of the Taiidani Imperial capital thus neutralising the threat posed by their rivals after which the naval task force returned to Hiigara in victory.
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 +
Upon returning, the Hiigarans made plans to reclaim the border worlds and await the action of the Galactic Council. They knew their actions would be challenged but had believed the Council's typically slow response would allow them more time. As such, they were surprised when the Council provided a speedy verdict where they demanded the Hiigarans relinquish the Hyperspace Core to their custody and to abandon all vessels within the exclusion zone that were to be returned back to their owners with a response being demanded within a 24 hour period. The Hiigarans seemingly agreed to the terms but on the condition that they relinquish the Core to the Bentusi. The Bentusi then arrived to take the Core and found the Hiigaran fleet that was seemingly inactive but then powered up where they assaulted the Bentus Harbour Ship itself. Their intention was to claim the Bentusi Hyperspace Core as well but despite their efforts the Hiigarans were unable to match the skill, experience or technology of the Bentus. The Bentusi made repeated attempts for the Hiigarans to surrender all of which were ignored with the ''Sajuuk's Wrath'' continuing its attack. Ultimately, it had to be disabled and with the Hiigaran fleet in ruins the Bentusi made their attempt at taking custody of the Hyperspace Core. In desperation, the Flagship commander set the ''Sajuuk's Wrath'' on a course for Hiigarans '''Angel Moon''' on a collision course in an attempt to deny the enemy from claiming the Core. In the aftermath, the Hiigarans had become a broken people with their military shattered and them being incapable of further action. The Galactic Council placed an edict that no further reparations were needed but that the Hiigarans had to agree to demilitarising their forces and never take up arms again. It was during this time that the Taiidan forces decided to strike and claim their revenge against the Hiigarans. Their border fleet was the sole remaining forces that remained and under the command of '''Admiral Riesstiu''' they struck at the Hiigaran worlds.  
  
 
Some of the Hiigarans came to hide within the Great Nebula that became known as the '''Garden of Kadesh''' where they became the '''Kadeshi''' who saw their new home as sacred and preyed on any intruders to ensure that the Taiidan never learnt of their existence. Another group of Exiles continued their journey were they came to find a desert world that came to be known as [[Kharak]]. These ships settled the barren world where in time they forgot their origins and developed a new culture and belief system as the survivors became the Kushan. Their origins in space were lost to memory and they had forgotten the age old edict that stated that they were never to develop space travel again as per the terms with the Taiidan empire. For the next 3,000 years, the Exiles continued to live on Kharak with their history being myth and legend that was forgotten by their people.
 
Some of the Hiigarans came to hide within the Great Nebula that became known as the '''Garden of Kadesh''' where they became the '''Kadeshi''' who saw their new home as sacred and preyed on any intruders to ensure that the Taiidan never learnt of their existence. Another group of Exiles continued their journey were they came to find a desert world that came to be known as [[Kharak]]. These ships settled the barren world where in time they forgot their origins and developed a new culture and belief system as the survivors became the Kushan. Their origins in space were lost to memory and they had forgotten the age old edict that stated that they were never to develop space travel again as per the terms with the Taiidan empire. For the next 3,000 years, the Exiles continued to live on Kharak with their history being myth and legend that was forgotten by their people.

Revision as of 11:47, 9 October 2019

The Kushan are a species that feature in Homeworld.

Contents

Biography

Origin

The Kushan were a people descended from the Hiigarans that originated from the Inner Rim world of Hiigara. Long ago, they once ruled the Hiigaran empire that was divided into a number of extended families that commanded a great deal of territory. Among the conquering empires, the Hiigarans war fleets were noted to had easily shattered the defences of their neighbours and bringing them under the control of their ruling council that was the Diamid. Within the same region of space, they encountered the Taiidan] that were rivals with the two having a number of disputes. Each respective empire had been built on assimilating those worlds around them. The border worlds were a source of bitter dispute between the two empires with conflict long raging over their ownership. The Hiigarans were one of the many races that erupted into conflict across the galaxy that challenged the fragile peace made by the Bentusi. This period saw the formation of the Galactic Council with the Hiigarans being one of the founding members. One of the matters that was brought to this body was the disputed border worlds between Hiigaran and Taiidani space. The Taiidan representative was believed to had made bribes and other overtures to convince the Council to side with them. Thus, the worlds were awarded to the Taiidan empire with a 30 year exclusion zone being instituted that prevented the Hiigaran fleet from approaching it or they would face reprisal from the Galactic Council. The Hiigarans being impotent before the Council would have remained the state of affairs had a discovery into the Great Wastelands had not uncovered a relic of great importance. Exploration of that uncharged region of space led to the discovery of the Hyperspace Core within a crystalline lattice. This offered the Hiigarans the power of Far Jumping that was a technology only available to the Bentusi and gave them the means of attaining their vengeance against the Taiidan along with the opportunity to reclaim their lost worlds. After reverse engineering the technology, they installed the Hyperspace Core in a flagship named Sajuuk's Wrath. The Hiigaran Navy was reorganised into a single main force in order to utilise the Far Jumping capabilities to its maximum potential. With it, the Hiigarans were able to bypass the Taiidan forces on the border and strike at their inner colonies. Patrols and garrisons faced the full Hiigaran fleet with any threat being destroyed. By the time the reports reached the Taiidan homeworld, the Hiigaran forces had arrived in orbit with the Taiidan Elite Guard being eliminated. The Hiigaran fleet then proceeded to conduct orbital bombardment of the Taiidani Imperial capital thus neutralising the threat posed by their rivals after which the naval task force returned to Hiigara in victory.

Upon returning, the Hiigarans made plans to reclaim the border worlds and await the action of the Galactic Council. They knew their actions would be challenged but had believed the Council's typically slow response would allow them more time. As such, they were surprised when the Council provided a speedy verdict where they demanded the Hiigarans relinquish the Hyperspace Core to their custody and to abandon all vessels within the exclusion zone that were to be returned back to their owners with a response being demanded within a 24 hour period. The Hiigarans seemingly agreed to the terms but on the condition that they relinquish the Core to the Bentusi. The Bentusi then arrived to take the Core and found the Hiigaran fleet that was seemingly inactive but then powered up where they assaulted the Bentus Harbour Ship itself. Their intention was to claim the Bentusi Hyperspace Core as well but despite their efforts the Hiigarans were unable to match the skill, experience or technology of the Bentus. The Bentusi made repeated attempts for the Hiigarans to surrender all of which were ignored with the Sajuuk's Wrath continuing its attack. Ultimately, it had to be disabled and with the Hiigaran fleet in ruins the Bentusi made their attempt at taking custody of the Hyperspace Core. In desperation, the Flagship commander set the Sajuuk's Wrath on a course for Hiigarans Angel Moon on a collision course in an attempt to deny the enemy from claiming the Core. In the aftermath, the Hiigarans had become a broken people with their military shattered and them being incapable of further action. The Galactic Council placed an edict that no further reparations were needed but that the Hiigarans had to agree to demilitarising their forces and never take up arms again. It was during this time that the Taiidan forces decided to strike and claim their revenge against the Hiigarans. Their border fleet was the sole remaining forces that remained and under the command of Admiral Riesstiu they struck at the Hiigaran worlds.

Some of the Hiigarans came to hide within the Great Nebula that became known as the Garden of Kadesh where they became the Kadeshi who saw their new home as sacred and preyed on any intruders to ensure that the Taiidan never learnt of their existence. Another group of Exiles continued their journey were they came to find a desert world that came to be known as Kharak. These ships settled the barren world where in time they forgot their origins and developed a new culture and belief system as the survivors became the Kushan. Their origins in space were lost to memory and they had forgotten the age old edict that stated that they were never to develop space travel again as per the terms with the Taiidan empire. For the next 3,000 years, the Exiles continued to live on Kharak with their history being myth and legend that was forgotten by their people.

Deserts of Kharak

Kushan early history on Kharak was filled with inter-clan conflicts that were fought over territory and religious beliefs. For a long time, the Kushan debated over their origins during the span of their 1300 recorded history with this only being fuelled by the harsh conditions of Kharak. Official Kharakian dating system began to designate 0KDS as the start of the history of the Kushan people. In 340, there was the first mentions of Kiith Manaan who came to be known as "The Travellers" with Kiith Soban as "The Grey Brotherhood" being formed in 416. In 462, the Kiith Siidim Council declared that they were of Divine Origin that they were of the gods whilst the other kiith were sand people native to Kharak and thus beneath them. The resultant pograms made by the Sidiim begin to affect a number of kiith on Kharak such as Kiith Paktu who were driven from their ancestral lands and homes in 488. By 490, the Great Migration begins with nearly 50 Paktu families setting sail for 'Albegiido where they created the Great Banded Desert on the winds of the Chak m'Hot in the hope of reaching the southern lands. The journey was dangerous and ultimately only 17 of the families came to survive the migration. Upon arriving, the members of Kiith Paktu began settling the south in 493 after which some of its members crossed the Great Banded Desert again in order to tell others of what they had established in their new home. Meanwhile, the Siidim continued their aggression where in 513 they slaughtered Manaani at Ferin Sha (Translation: The Dancing Grounds). Eventually, conflict erupted between two of the largest kiith's of the north with these being the Kiith Siidim and the other being the Kiith Gaalsien. This came about over the reasons the Gods had placed them on such an inhospitable world as Kharak leading to the Heresy Wars in 520.

This culminated in a large scale war in 520 between two of the largest clans in the north namely the Siidim and the Gaalsien over the issue of their place on Kharak. The Siidim believed that they were once a great race that lived in paradise until they were punished by the gods for their hubris who cast them down to Kharak. Meanwhile, the Gaalsien believed the Kushan people were made to suffer from the beginning and that Kharak was the only existence for their people and thus saw the Sidiim's beliefs to be heretical. Eventually, the Heresy Wars erupted that spread to the southern into the southern zone with this lasting a period of 300 years and created clan feuds that kept erupting into further conflicts. The three century long conflict left the Kushan on the brink of extinction as precious infrastructure was destroyed with resources being lost as a result. In 810, the internal anarchy had left the different factions exhausted and it was then that a small obscure northern clan called the Naabel from the settlement of Tiir emerged that developed chemical explosives which made them unmatched in warfare. This group preached a view of science and logic where they offered their protection to anyone who shared these view. None of the theological clans managed to defeat the Naabel who within the span of 20 years made Tiir a new capital as they sparked a new era known as the Age of Reason. This sparked a time of debate and development in sciences where advances in biological and chemical sciences revealed a lack of commonality between the Kushan biochemical makeup and those of the lifeforms native to their world. When the Daiamid Movement was formed, it sparked an era of scientific breakthroughs and philosophical discussion that led to the XenoGenesis Theory where their race came to conclude that they were not native to Kharak. This alone did not end conflict but sparked an interest in space exploration in an effort for the Kushan to discover their origins.

The idea of space exploration was not greeted favourably by the people as some believed efforts should have been made at staving off the encroaching desert and developing means of supporting the Kushan population. It was an obscure theologian named Per Doine who helped pave the way for unifying the factions opposed to space launch. He referenced the old myth that tragedy would befall the people of Kharak if they went into space and that they would be punished for their arrogance. This reignited fervour amongst the religious groups who had experienced a revival among the polar territories. In turn, this brought about the formation of a frenzied mob that were looking to tear down the first orbital flight of the Silumiin launch vehicle. The event was known as the Mission Silumiin Riots that occurred in circa 1024 as the mob looked to stop the lift-off with disaster only being averted by the High Technocrats who prevented firing of the defensive turrets and preached reason for the 14 hour period of the launch. In that time, Per Doine managed to slip through the protective cordons and prayed beneath the rocket engines where he was incinerated by the launch and labelled a martyr for his cause. The era of piloted orbital exploration came to show further signs that the Kushan people were not indigenous to Kharak with advanced debris found in space but this did not confirm their origins.

In 1057, a meeting of the full Daiamid of Tiir was called by Kiith S'jet to discuss troubling meteorological patterns that indicated that the Great Barrier mountain range which protected the northern polar region would be overwhelmed within a century. Thus, the Northern kiithid set about the task of creating an artificial substitute that was a giant full kilometre wide sand baffle wall that covered kilometres to provide the necessary protection for the northern polar regions. The northern kiithids united in Project: Stormbreaker that took nearly a decade to complete and it was during this time that kiith Gaalsien began to re-emerge after centuries of hiding in the equatorial wastes. Initially, this took the form of communiques into the polar comm relays with the same message being played namely that mortal kiithid had no right or mandate to oppose God's will. The Gaalsien were opposed to the Stormbreaker wall and warned the norther kiiths that this would fall and when their warnings were not heeded then their Kiith-Sa declared a holy war against the North. This saw a period where small raids were conducted on construction sites with this being a way for the Gaalsien to perfect their military tactics of inflicting the most damage against numerous but scattered foes. In time, the strikes became more ambitious causing serious disruptions in the construction schedule but the Gaalsien were not the only ones learning from these encounters. The norther kiiths had built the Stormbeaker wall with a series of firebases and fortified command centers to protect it against enemies with these breaking a number of Gaalsien raids. The costly attacks led to hundreds of their "Fist of God" warriors being killed and caused a stop to the attacks leading to a tense peace that allowed the wall to near completion. The Gaalsien-Sa saw the completion as a barrier to any chance of threatening Tiir itself and thus organised the Siifar Kor'shesh (the Night of Fiery Daggers). It was then that in 1074 that ten thousand Gaalsien Fists struck at the twin gate wall forts that guarded the main access valley. Their intention was to raze the location and then head to the rich lands beyond the point. Though incomplete, the Guardian forts were still manned by 500 warriors and another 600 technicians along with laborers. Despite felling hundreds of fanatics, slowly the tide turned and many of the defenders died alongside those they protected as they attempted to hold the line. Once Gaalsien reserves entered the fray, the Naabal-Sa gave the order to spring the trap and two full legions of Sobani mercenaries arose from the desert floor and ambushed the enemy forces. At the cost of many lives, the Naabal had arranged a cunning trap that would strip their foes of an entire generation of warriors with this being a success. Thus, the Stormbreaker Wall held and the Northern Coalition was victorious thus ensuring an era of peace for them in the future.

In 1100, Kiith S'jet launched a new sensor system as part of Project Viin Cal that was a series of deep-scan radar satellites that swept the surface of Kharak. The program suffered from various disappointments due to malfunctions and strange localised magnetic inversions. This saw a downgrade of much of its operations in 1106 with fewer resources and staff. It was during this time that a young technician named Leykab Jaraci managed to accidentally uncover a large metallic object within the deserts of Kharak that was seemingly of alien construction. The event changed the fate of the Kushan people who decided to investigate the Jaraci Object. This was followed by a petitioning of the Daiamid for an expedition to investigate the site leading the forming of Operation Skaal Brii. Knowledge of the initial anomaly expedition was not well known with the Ifriit Naabal exploration carrier being reassigned to the task with a specialised crew. Though a scientific expedition, military divisions were assigned due to the Gaalsien remaining a valid threat but the danger was worth the risk as it was believed the anomaly could provide either technological advances or further insight into the origins of the Kushan people thus answering the Xenogenesis Question. All contact was lost with the carrier and the fate of its crew was unknown to the Northern Coalition. Thus, in 1110, the Second Jaraci Expedition was launched with Operation Khadiim that was tasked with exploring the Primary Anomaly. Increased Gaalsien incursions saw an added purpose to the Anomaly Expdition 2.0 as it was not only to find the crash site but also the source of their enemy's technological breakthroughs with the Kapisi being launched with this mission objective.

Homeworld

Overview

In appearance, the Kushan and their Hiigaran ancestors bipedal beings that resembled humans.

Dating back from their Hiigaran roots, the Kushan were divided into a number of extended families known as a Kiith. Among the various Kiithid were:

  • Kiith S'jet :
  • Kiith Soban :
  • Kiith Naabal :
  • Kiith Manaan :
  • Kiith Somtaaw :
  • Kiith Hraal/LiirHra :
  • Kiith Gaalsien :
  • Kiith Siidim :
  • Kiith Paktu :
  • Kiith Kaalel :
  • Kiith Magann :
  • Kiith Sagald :
  • Kiith Jaraci :
  • Kiith Tambuur :

The ruling family of a Kiith held the position of Kiith-Sa. Certain Kiith developed their own companies that produced equipment and technology such as S'jet Aerospace. On Kharak, the Kiith of the north formed an allied government that looked to re-establish their space presence as the planet was dying with these becoming the Coalition of the Northern Kiithid. A legislative body that unified the Kiith was the Great Daiamid that dated from the time of the Hiigaran empire.

From the Gaalsien came a group that were called the Khaaneph (Translation: Godless) that were a group that inhabited the deep deserts. They were said to believe in nothing and were not a Kiith but rather scavengers who took anything from corpses to equipment for raw material.

Among the Kushan on Kharak, there was a pantheon of deities that included Viin Cal who was the god of hunters. A common belief among the races of the galaxy that included the ancient Hiigarans and the Kushan was that surrounding a deity known as Sajuuk who was known as the "Great Maker" or as "He Whose Hand Shapes What Is". Unknown to anyone, Sajuuk was one of the ancient Progenitors who crafted the Three Hyperspace Cores.

The Kushan and Hiigaran language had many words that included:

  • Faagan : from the Gaalsien dialect that when translated meant "the Bound and the Blind".
  • Faagani : from the Gaalsien dialect that when loosely translated meant "Blind Followers of a False God" and was used as a term by the Gaalsien for the Northern Coalition.
  • Griitidim : a term that meant "sand people" that was a term used by the Sidiim that claimed they were of divine origin and that the other kiiths were sand people native to Kharak.
  • Khaaneph : an ancient word that translated to mean "Godless".

Technology

Vehicles developed by the Kushan on Kharak included:

  • NBR-12A Science Team Baserunner :
  • STS-32 Foreman-class Salvager :
  • NRG-18 Horizon-class Railgun :
  • Ifriit-class Heavy Carrier :
  • SJCC-14 Sakala-class Command Carrier :
  • SJF-14 Hammer-class Strike Fighter :
  • SJB-18 Anvil-class Tactical Bomber :

Among the spacecraft they developed in time were:

  • Explorer-class Deep Space Mining Vessel :
  • Kushan Mothership :

Members

  • Karan S'jet :
  • Iifrit Naabal-sa :
  • Majiir Paktu :
  • Soban the Red :
  • Teigor Somtaaw :
  • Arban Hraal :
  • Miirpat Gaalsien-sa :
  • Per Doine :
  • Leykab Jaraci :
  • Deckard Naabal :

Notes

  • The Kushan featured in the setting of Homeworld.

Appearances

  • Homeworld:
  • Homeworld: Cataclysm:
  • Homeworld 2:
  • Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak:

External Links

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