Fiction:Ginkan Hegemony

The “Ginkan Hegemony”' is an emerging faction led by a council of religious leaders in the Exterioris region of the Andromeda Galaxy. They have only recently developed interstellar travel, and as such have yet to come into contact with any of the major powers of the region.

History
Before the Hegemony, planet Oppes was ruled by four different clans who revered the Council of Mentors. Soon after space travel was invented, the Council decreed that it would be better for the Ginkan people for the clans to band together and combine their strengths, rather than compete against one another, in order to colonize the system.

Over the next thousand years the Ginkan Hegemony ushered the race of Ginkans into a golden age as each of the six habitable planets in the system were colonized. Two of the planets were already inhabited by a different, non space faring, races.

One race, named the Fredriki, lived on the third planet of the system. They welcomed the Ginkans with open arms upon their first meeting. Impressed by the subjectively advanced technology, and spiritual teachings, they were eventually absorbed willingly into the Ginkan Hegemony.

The other race, named the Tukanni, lived on the last planet of the system. They were instantly aggressive towards the Ginkans, attacking the first colonists sent to the planet without mercy, and overpowering them with their sheer numbers. After the initial colonization effort was killed to the last man, the Ginkan Hegemony declared war against the Tukanni, and immediately invaded the planet. Bringing in vast amounts of troops and superior technology, the Ginkans soon took over the entire planet. The remaining Tukanni surrendered unconditionally, and were given a small parcel of land on the planet to continue living on. In the years that followed, some Tukanni willingly joined the Ginkan Hegemony in awe of its continued military and technological superiority, while the majority of the community prefers to live in isolation.

After all planets were successfully colonized, the Ginkans turned their eyes ever onward towards the distant stars. Work began on creating some means of swift interstellar travel, and while they worked tirelessly, a breakthrough did not occur until providence came in the form of a pirate vessel.

This particular pirate vessel was thrown off course from his raiding party when his navigation system was damaged during their most recent raid. The result was a ship that, in an attempt to avoid capture, made several long range uncalculated jumps and ended up in the heart of the Ginkan’s system. Severely damaged, low on energy, and now completely lost, the pirates were forced to make an emergency landing on the nearest planet: Oppes.

The Ginkans took this to be a sign of divine providence, and moved immediately to study the workings of the pirate vessel. The pirates responded to the sudden influx of relatively primitive natives with their natural response: gunfire. The battle lasted several days, but by the end of it, the pirates were all killed along with many Ginkan soldiers. The ship was scientifically dissected and each part studied, with a great emphasis placed on the ship’s interstellar drive.

Seven years later, the Ginkan Hegemony built its first interstellar capable ship: The Zephyr. Over the last three years the Ginkan Hegemony has embarked on a massive colonization campaign, and have successfully established working colonies on 14 other planetary systems. Still a stellar power in its infancy, the Hegemony’s relatively small territory has so far been unnoticed by the major galactic powers, and they have yet to make contact with them.

Culture/Faith
The entire culture of the Ginkan Hegemony is based in its faith in a divine being they know as “The Great Creator.” They believe that the divine creator made the Ginkan people for a grand yet unknown purpose, and that it is its will for them to grow and spread across the universe. Ginkans seem to have an inborn desire to attempt perfection, and see the pursuit of perfection as the pursuit of becoming more like their creator. The original four clans still exist as different branches of the Hegemony. When a Ginkan civilian comes of age, they choose which clan they wish to be a part of. Each clan pursues perfection in a different way, and together they cover the needs of the Ginkan people.

The Clan of Might (Pursuit of Perfect Physicality): Believing that they are made in the physical image of their creator, the members of the Clan of Might push themselves to improve their bodies through physical exercise. These clan members fill the roles of foot soldiers, laborers, and bodyguards for the rest of the hegemony.

The Clan of the Craftsmen (Pursuit of Perfect Creation): Believing that their creativity is a reflection of the incredible creative nature of their creator, the members of the Clan of the Craftsmen seek to forge masterworks in all things, from furniture to spacecraft. These clan members fill the roles of architects, ship designers, and overseers of manufacturing plants.

The Clan of Science (Pursuit of Perfect Known Knowledge): Believing in the all encompassing knowledge of the Great Creator, the Clan of Science strives to know everything it can of everything known, with each clan member often dedicating his or her life to the study of one particular subject. These clan members fill the roles of tech specialists, professors, and botanists to name a few.

The Clan of Exploration (Pursuit of Perfect Unknown Knowledge): Believing in the all encompassing knowledge of the Great Creator, the Clan of Exploration seeks the unknown. Previously exploring from the depths of the oceans to the heights of the mountains to find new and exciting things, the Clan of Exploration has now begun exploring the stars. These clan members fill the roles of scouts, exploration ship captains, and navigators.

The Council of Mentors: The Council provides spiritual as well as governmental leadership to the Hegemony. They also are the sole operators and innovators of the Ginkan’s genetic restructuring technology. A Ginkan can never select the Council of Mentors as their “clan” to join, rather, the Council selects civilians to fill their ranks based on the civilian’s leadership capabilities, moral character, and divine clarity. While all other clans obey the commands of the mentors, for those are thought to be the commands of the Great Creator itself, the Council does not give orders often. When it does, they are often broad, and open for the clans to comply with those orders in the way they deem best.

Technology
The scavenged pirate vessel, damaged by its battle and crash landing and then further damaged in the battle against the Ginkan people, was not able to provide many insights into advanced technology other than interstellar drives. As a result, the Hegemony’s technology level is still considered somewhat primitive by other race’s standards. They rely often on nuclear reactors for energy, and none of their weapons are energy based.

The one exception to this relative primitivity is the Ginkan’s mastery of their own genetics. Aided by what they believe to be flashes of divine inspiration, the Council of Mentors has managed create and refine the technology to manipulate the genetic structure of their fellow Ginkans. An actual change has only occurred two times in the past, and in each case it was preceded by a divine vision seen by one the Council’s elders, and the immediate knowledge of how to perform such a change.

The first of which, was a gene to that allowed a Ginkan to survive extreme cold in relative comfort. This seemed odd to many civilians, as Oppes was a relatively warm planet, with only the poles being cold enough to be an issue. However, the Council elder who had received the vision was adamant, and every Ginkan received the gene treatment. Two years passed, and the entire planet of Oppes was suddenly plunged into an ice age.

The second change was far more visible, and extreme. Changing the eyes of the Ginkan people from three pair of forward facing eyes to a single, large, complex eye. The large eye was capable of slightly better focus and vision, but most importantly, it was capable of vastly increased night vision. A year after all Ginkans had received the gene treatment, a new, large,  habitable moon was discovered in the orbit the system’s gas giant. This moon’s slow orbit, coupled with the gas giant's fast orbit, meant that it was always in the gas giant's “shadow” and was only given light by the stars. A zealous colonization effort began immediately.

The most common use of the genetic technology, however is on other races that wish to join the Ginkan Hegemony. To become a part of the Hegemony in spirit and creed, one must also become a Ginkan in body. One of the main tenets of the worship of the Grand Creator is the divine creation, and improvement, of the Ginkan’s form. To turn someone into a Ginkan physically is considered the greatest honor they can give, and it is only done when the subject of the transformation fully agrees with, and desires it. As such, every citizen in the Hegemony is a full Ginkan, and newly converted civilians are welcomed as such.

It is important to note that due to the belief in the divine creation and improvement of the Ginkan physical form, to murder, or intentionally harm a fellow Ginkan is placed on the same level as blasphemy, as it is seen as striking the visage of the Grand Creator itself. Civilians are typically pardoned in the case of self defense against another Ginkan, unless the retaliation was overly malicious.

Military
Ever since the initial pirate incident, the Council ordered the mass productions of ships and weapons if more hostile alien forces showed up. As a result, the Ginkan Navy and Army are rather numerous. However, Ginkan weapon technology is still comparatively primitive.

The Ginkan Army
The Ginkan army is broken up into multiple groups, the largest being: infantry divisions, and cavalry divisions.

The infantry are often armed with hand held solid slug firing weapons. Given the Ginkan’s four arms, it is common to see an infantryman wielding a rifle and melee weapons at the same time. Anti-tank missile weapons are also used, catapulting exploding projectiles towards the enemy using rail technology, but these are generally. the Soldiers come from the Clan of Might, and as such are statistically the most physically able of the entire Ginkan race.

The cavalry divisions are formed Ginkan riders, and various large mounts serving different purposes. Large creatures are often used as troop transports, and the more vicious predators are given armor, and often have large rail-cannons mounted to their backs to be fired by passengers.

The Ginkan Navy
The Ginkan Navy relies on large solid-slug firing rail-cannons, as well as nuclear missiles in ship to ship battles. Without shield technology, the Ginkan navy relies on far the less effective ablative armor plating. Typically, many of the Ginkan ships are small and utilize swarm tactics to bring down larger foes. Zephyr Class Scout Ship= Named after the first interstellar capable Ginkan starship, the Zephyr class is primarily an exploration vessel. Tasked with exploring and documenting the nearby systems, it is not uncommon for a Zephyr to spend many months on the same planet to bring back a thorough report on the viability of a new colony there.

Zephyrs are small vessels, and are armed with missiles in the event of a surprise attack. Standing orders for any Zephyr under fire are to return fire to slow the enemy pursuit, and escape as quickly as possible.

Typhoon Class Fast Attack Ship= Making up much of the Ginkan offensive navy, Typhoon class ships are small ships that are lightly crewed, but armed with 12 anti-capital ship class nuclear missiles, as well as a single forward mounted rail cannon. The ships are relatively cheap to produce, and are their small crew requirement means that the Hegemony is capable of sustaining a very large fleet of them. However, the weapons take up the bulk of the ships space, and as a result the ships themselves are not intended for extended excursions.

Hurricane Class Battleship= One of the few large classes of Ginkan ships, the Hurricane class battleship is equipped with five heavy rail cannon batteries, and is impressively armored. Its battlefield role is as a command ship, providing the home for naval generals to oversee the battle and give orders. When not in combat, it has several docking ports for other ships, like the Typhoon class, to allow crew members to come aboard and utilize the larger ship’s amenities on long-term excursions.

Economy
The Ginkan currency is silver, a rare metal on Oppes that is prized for its purity, rarity, and looks. Thin silver strips is used in physical transactions, with the thicknesses regulated, and stamped to avoid anyone mistaking the value of the particular strip.

Relations
The only other race that the Hegemony has encountered outside of its planetary system have been pirates. Needless to say, these relations caused the Ginkans to be very cautious about approaching any other species outside. As such, they have not made great attempts to find alien governments, and they have contented themselves in building up their current territory, and exploring the nearby uninhabited systems.

Allies
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 * Our brother! It would be our honor if you would join us.

On good terms
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 * Good tidings. Would you like to hear the teachings of our Great Creator?

Neutral
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 * The hegemony would welcome you, if you are willing to speak.

On poor terms
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 * Be very careful. You do not wish to make us your enemy.

Enemies
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 * Those who harm the visages of our creator without cause must die!