Fiction:Helmore Galactic Conglomerate

The Helmore Galactic Conglomerate is a collection of independent, yet united, star systems controlled by the Helmore. They are loyal vassals of the Volver Empire and members of the United Knights Alliance as a result.

Pre-History
The Helmore do not have many records on the era before the founding of the Conglomerate. Due to raids from the Hyperon Grand Khanate, what ever information existed has been burned to the ground. The remaining records show that sometime around 2000 BC, a civil war on the Helmore homeworld of Orston caused many Helmore to leave the planet and found their own civilizations.

Founding
The Helmore Galactic Conglomerate was founded in 1644 BC by a council of the many leaders of the separate Helmore systems. This was done to try and unify their scattered people in an attempt to protect each other from external threats, stimulate their economy, and cultivate a trade network throughout the rest of the galaxy. Their earliest trade partners being the Soldarian Empire and the Volver Empire.

Early Conflicts
In the first few centuries of the Conglomerate's existence, it suffered small raids from the likes of the Hyperon Grand Khanate and the Biskin Empire. These never escalated to full-scale wars however, thanks to their connections with their formidable trade partners. The Helmore eventually built a sort of protective military force and became more and more effective at defending their own worlds. As conflicts between the Helmore and Biskin escilated, the Helmore had time to really double down on an elite defense force, which would deter future raids. Eventually the Hyperon backed off from their raids after the Soldarian-Hyperon War of 1148 AD. The Biskin raids began getting more violent as time passed however.

Battle of Minera
In 1272 AD, the Biskin Empire led a massive assault on Minera, a Conglomerate controlled world rich in precious metals and resources. The Helmore held their ground against the Biskin, but the Biskin were unrelenting, and threatened to bombard the planet if the Helmore refused to surrender. The planet was under siege and the Biskin gave the Helmore two days to surrender. The Conglomerate's own ships were not fast enough to reach Minera in time to help fight the Biskin, and even if they did arrive on time, their ships were not capable of holding their own against the advanced Biskin fleet. The Helmore managed to sneak a transmission out to a nearby Volver colony gain support in the battle. The Volver Empire answered the call and arrived on the scene with their fleet and infantry units by the stat of the second day to aid the Conglomerate forces.
 * Main Article: Battle of Minera

With the Volver Empire backing them up, the Conglomerate forces on Minera was able to hold out unitl the Conglomerate fleet arrived to support the Volver fleet. The Biskin, having only brought a small invasion force, retreated.

Joining the Volver Empire
In late 1272 AD, the Helmore Galactic Conglomerate pledged themselves as vassals to the Volver Empire as thanks for their aid during the Battle of Minera. The Volver Empire would protect and watch over the Conglomerate's territories, while the Conglomerate would pay tribute to the Volver Empire in the way of materials and currency. With this alliance, the Helmore had the ability to spread to more systems without fear of being unable to defend themselves.

War of Tyris Major
In 1275 AD, the War of Tyris Major raged across the Galaxy. While the Conglomerate mostly avoided any direct military conflicts during this war, they did provide their elite guardsmen to protect border worlds of the Volver, Soldarians, and even the Hyperon. They were technically participating on the side of the Volver Empire, but they did not stage any invasions or participate in any large battles.
 * Main Article: War of Tyris Major

The war ended with a victory for the Volver Empire and their allies, which benefited the Conglomerate since the Volver shared their spoils of war with them.

Founding of the United Knights Alliance
In 1373 AD, the Volver Empire, Soldarian Empire, Hyperon Grand Khanate, and the Antroth Empire established the United Knights Alliance. The Conglomerate joined the alliance in support of their liege, the Vovler. This alliance opened up even more opportunities to expand their territory and trade network. Some within the alliance welcome and promote the business of the Conglomerate, however others claim that they do not deserve membership within the alliance due to their hands off approach to the War of Tyris Major.
 * Main Article: United Knights Alliance

Regardless of differing opinions of alliance citizens, the Conglomerate became an official member of the United Knights Alliance the same day the Volver Empire did, and their positive impact on the economics of the alliance is one thing alliance citizens can agree with.

Nebulorian War
After almost one thousand years of relative peace, Tyris Major was invaded by an ancient empire known as the Nebulorian Empire. A few UKA worlds were attacked and devastated by the Nebulorians, and the UKA was focused on an offensive assault to deal with them. The Helmore stepped up and provided sanctuary and relief aid to their allies worlds, earning the respect of members of the UKA and the Grand Republic of Tyris Major (also known as the Grand Republic).
 * Main Article: Nebulorian-Alpha War

The war ended in 2758 AD with a victory for the UKA and Grand Republic. Thanks to their efforts during the war, both the Grand Republic and members of the UKA compensated the Conglomerate with money and supplies.

Enlightenment War
The Enlightenment War of the Mirus Galaxy broke out in 2771 AD. While the UKA did send forces to Mirus to fight, the Helmore mostly stayed out of the conflict. The Helmore lacked the military might to be of much use in an entirely different galaxy, and they were under the impression that the war was of no interest of theirs.

The UKA did aid in securing a victory for their allies in Mirus and became founding members of the multi-galactic alliance known as the Unified Alliance of Enlightenment (UAE) along with the Grand Republic of Tyris Major. Because of this, the Helmore Galactic Conglomerate were technically members of the UAE, but they did not hold much power within its government.

The Void War
In 2779 AD, a multi-galactic threat known as the Nyarqaeshu declared war on the galaxy. The Conglomerate participated by once again providing defensive support for the UKA. Most Helmore managed to avoid any serious conflict, but those who were ferrying supplies to military command centers were often accosted by the forces of Xizothano Ada.
 * Main Article: The Return of THEM

The conflict ended in 2780 AD with a UKA and Grand Republic victory who were fighting under the banner of the Unified Alliance of Enlightenment.

Government and Culture
The Conglomerate's government is ran by a democratically elected president. The President has a council of ten similarly elected officials that advise him/her on decisions that need to be made within and outside of the Conglomerate's territory. Each star system or group of star systems with common interests within the Conglomerate are called "states". These states are governed by an elected governor his/her own small council of four officials.

As a people, the Helmore are hard working and enjoy the company of their peers. They have a great amount of respect for the Volver, though they disagree with the Volver on political topics such as democracy vs monarchy. The very capitalist nature of the Conglomerate promotes their usually booming economy and businesses, but also makes a few Helmore a bit cutthroat and greedy when it comes to their own money. Even the mighty Soldarians know that it's dangerous to come between a Helmore and their ability to make a profit.

Military
The Helmore do not have an offensive standing military force or an advanced naval fleet for invasions or space combat. They do however train extremely effective guardsmen that are used to protect Conglomerate owned worlds. They are experts at fighting defensively and can hold their positions for what seems like an eternity against almost any enemy. They have yet to fail at protecting Conglomerate and UKA worlds from complete annihilation or enemy takeover.

The Volver Empire's military is also intertwined with the Conglomerate's, and they are protected by the 3rd and 4th Volver Knight legions.

Allies

 * United Knights Alliance - "It sounded like it wouldn't work on paper, but it turns out it was a great idea. We aren't sure what Tyris Major would be like without this alliance."


 * Volver Empire - "The Volver have stood by us for over one thousand years and would be glad to stand by them for yet another thousand years"


 * Soldarian Empire - "These old trading partners proved very useful to us in the past. Now they are even more useful as our trusted allies."
 * Hyperon Grand Khanate - "We have had a violent past with the Nataak people. However, they've proven their loyalty to the United Knights Alliance, and have gained our trust."
 * Antroth Empire - "Another enemy-turned-ally. They're resources are very valuable to Conglomerate citizens and their military is nothing to sneeze at."
 * Lavatuft Republic - "We have great respect for fellow craters. And an even greater respect for such an old and enduring civilization."
 * S'actha Republic - "We make a lot of money making things for their churches. We aren't kidding. It's crazy how much they'll pay for a rosary."
 * Violaven Union - "The best traders in the galaxy. There's a lot of profit to be had trading with them, but it's pretty risky when you're dealing with a species as cunning as the Violaven. They've also got really good tech. Maybe we can convince them to actually share some of it one day..."

Neutral

 * Unified Alliance of Enlightenment - "It would be nice if we actually had a say in the politics of the alliance. Though we have to admit this alliance is for the betterment of our galaxies."

Enemies

 * Biskin Empire - "You 'conquer everything'-types are bad for business. We'd be better off if you scurried back off to Tyris Minor."
 * Infectant Horde - "The infected can't exactly buy or trade you know! You can't just up and kill our customers and expect us to say something nice!"

Quotes from them
"If we figured out the cure to the Infectant Virus, we could probably make a huge profit off of it. Sure we could give it away for free, but shipping ain't exactly cheap you know?"

"We don't go poking our nose in the affairs of other galaxies for good reasons. One of 'em being it's sort of bad for business to get directly involved in a war millions of light years away."

Quotes from others

 * Add your own!