|
|
Ourii Holdfast
|
The Ourii
Holdfast is a micro-empire located in the
Prodigal Void and maintaining a membership in the
Core Commonwealth. The Ourii Holdfast
consists of two worlds, the Ourii homeworld
of Tessera and their single protectorate Skegslie. The Holdfast is closely
affiliated with the Core Commonwealth, trades with them extensively, and
maintains military agreements but the Ourii
are also fiercely proud and maintain their independence and heritage.
|
| Ourii Holdfast |
| Location | Prodigal Void |
| Capital Planet | Tessera |
| Government | Monarchy |
| Tech Level | Modern |
| Established | Ancient |
| Composition | Ourii
Mixed Immigrants |
| Planets | Tessera
Skegslie |
|
Government
The Ourii
continue an ancient empirical system of government. A single Emperor rules the
Holdfast. He is chosen by "Little Emperors" who each represent one of 36
countries on Tessera and the 3 countries on Skegslie. Skegslie's country count
is deliberately kept low to minimize the effect of opinion from a colonial
settlement with a mixed population while still allowing them to have some input
into their governance. The Imperial wisdom is greatly
respected but not absolute. Ignoring the people can lead to exile,
displacement through intrigue or the loss of political support among the
elite, or assassination.
Little Emperors are appointed by the most
powerful Ourii from each country. Little
Emperors generally rule for life or, rarely, until supplanted by the popular
opinion and action of the elite, the other Little Emperors, or the people. The
Little Emperors meet once every five years to choose from among themselves who
will sit as Emperor for the next five years. Little Emperors also have the
unconditional power to make decisions regarding their countries, though they
are given input by councils elected by the people.
Cities and towns are presided over by Governors
who are appointed by the local Little Emperor, with advice from a local popular
election.
Military
The Ourii are a capable people who
are completely unwilling to be intimidated. When diplomacy and intrigue
fail, they are irascible fighters. While most races have developed a
chemical system that stimulates fear, anger, and aggression when
confronted with danger, the Ourii's
unique chemical system suppresses their passions, boosts their brain
activity, and heightens their perceptions. In essence, the Ourii feel no
fear in the face of danger and meet it with cold calculation and clever,
intuitive deduction.While the majority of their technology is
purchased from the Core Commonwealth and the
mega-corporations of the Prodigal Void,
the Ourii perform a variety of complex
customizations and upgrades that tailor the technology to their body type,
senses, and needs. Their military is small but proud and effective.
Because the Ourii are
predominantly a peaceful, non-expansionist race their ships are uniquely
designed for defense. While more aggressive races waste space on multiple drive
types for their ships, the Holdfast tends to retrofit modular drives that can
be easily swapped to meet immediate need. Most ships will have only extremely
fast, local capability and will swap in interstellar drives only when actually
traveling to other systems. The saved space by the exclusion of long-distance
drives and crew quartering is used for extra weapons and shielding, which tends
to make Holdfast ships pound-for-pound more dangerous than the average races'.
The Holdfast will generally maintain a few pursuit and reconnaissance ships in
each system capable of interstellar flight.
|
|
