Across the course of human history
Great conflicts have been fought that promised to be the war to end all wars
Yet every victory brought only humiliation, hardship, and bitter resentment to the defeated
So it was again in
2204 when the shattered remnants of the Helghan Administration,
forced off the Eden world of Vekta in the aftermath of the first extrasolar
war, were exiled to the brutal and barren planet that was their namesake
From the ashes however, there arose dreams of a new order and the Helghan people rallied around the charismatic Scholar Vasari
Whose vision of a new
unbreakable nation captivated millions
Through his leadership the last vestiges of the old regime were swept away and in its place the Helghan marched
united in purpose under the banners of the Helghan empire.
At the center of this new nation was an old idea that the Helghan people had been robbed of the opportunity to
prosper from their own labor and greatest success.
While exaggerated and simplified for the benefit of state misinformation campaigns, the rhetoric did have a basis in history
One that stretched back to the earliest days of human colonization
In 2111, still reeling from a nuclear war and in terrible need of sustainable resources, Earth's most powerful
nations begun a massive campaign to colonize extrasolar star systems
Under the auspice of the United Colonial Nations or UCN,
A fleet of six colony ships was dispatched to the Alpha Centauri system, hoping to spearhead the next stage of human
civilization
Tragedy struck when the ships were lost in an apparent solar flare and the UCN, economically desperate,
auctioned the settlement rights of Alpha Centauri to Earth's wealthiest corporations
Despite allegations of bribery and corruption, the Helghan Corporation, an energy, industrial, and mining
conglomerate won the bidding process.
The journey to Alpha Centauri was difficult and hundreds died in cryosleep.
Within the star system, however two planets were found capable of supporting human life
The first, named Helghan, while abundant in raw resources was nearly inhospitable.
A toxic atmosphere shrouded its surface and the planet was tormented by frequent storms
The second planet by contrast was a verdant paradise, covered in fertile land flowing lakes and great oceans.
It was named Vekta in honor of the corporation's CEO
With the resources of Helghan and the prosperity of Vekta the Helghan corporation over time,
transformed the Alpha Centauri system into the principal hub of interstellar civilization.
As new colonies were established by the UCN, the flow of ships and trade through Alpha Centauri brought with them enormous wealth and
opportunities.
Now functioning as a quasi nation state the Helghan Corporation began transitioning into a civil administration
reorganizing itself first into the Helghan Protectorate in 2138, and then the Helghan Administration in 2152
Finally, in 2155 the Helghan government purchased the entire system outright
from the still economically fragile UCN.
As humanity's central colony, the growing power of the Helghan
Administration raised concerns within the UCN, of which Helghan itself was still technically a member
Tensions slowly grew as the UCN rescinded certain rights it had accorded Helghan and Vekta, while simultaneously
Creating a fleet of warships, should a military solution become unavoidable.
With it's future prosperity strangled under the weight of Earth's demands, Helghan officially declared independence.
in 2199
Despite their immense numerical advantage, Helghan forces were at best an
armed customs service, while in space their picket ships were no match for the ISA's purpose-built warships.
The heaviest fighting was over within a year, book-ended by acts of terrorism and small skirmishes.
In an attempt to quell the lingering fighting and prevent a costly occupation, the UCN assumed governance over Vekta,
But allowed the Helghan Administration to retain control over Helghan itself
Subjected to blockades and restrictions until diplomatic relations could be normalized
Millions of Helghan loyalists departed Vekta for Helghan in the ensuing years, faced with a bleak existence rife with illness,
starvation, and hardship
Helped along by basic genetic conditioning and a variety of treatments and implants, the Helghan
population grew more resilient to it's environment with a privileged few even capable of surviving without the use of
oxygen masks while outdoors.
While the situation slowly improved, the long-term outlook of the nation remained grim
Stifled under the strict conditions imposed by Vekta and the UCN, the singular and
remarkable figure of Scholar Vasari rose to prominence.
A master orator, Vasari was the first to give voice to what later became the principal keystone of the Helghan philosophy:
that the people of Helghan had been strengthened by their environment and
Transformed into a superior extra human race - the Helghast
After an apparent attempt on his life,
Vasari leveraged his public support and with the help of the military took part in a successful coup against the Helghan leadership
Rebranded as the self-proclaimed Autarch of Helghan,
Vasari consolidated his position as supreme authority and enacted a series of transformative political, social, and economic policies.
The Helghast government was predominantly authoritarian with political power residing firmly in the office of Vasari.
The Helghan Senate served as the Autarch's Cabinet of Advisors, with military and corporate interests
disproportionately represented,
yet completely subservient to the interests of the state.
These fascist elements permeated every aspect of society, with
Ultra-nationalism, militarism, and total commitment to the nation intertwined with Helghast culture until they had become one in the same
Particular attention was given to the filtration masks and other breathing apparatus is used by Helghan citizens
Transforming them from symbols of shame or weakness to those of pride
evidence of having overcome extreme struggle and hardship
This new ideology was represented by the Helghast triad - three arrows symbolizing the highest virtues of duty,
obedience, and loyalty.
Even the old languages of Earth, proclaimed outmoded by Vasari, were replaced with a new written language
Designed to dissuade alternative thinking by eliminating certain words and concepts
The government's military first policy had inflicted substantial adversity upon the people of Helghan
But the massive rearmament programs had achieved a stunning level of success
In 2357 the Helghan Empire launched a massive invasion of Vekta in a bid to
Reunify the Alpha Centauri system and reclaim what they had lost.
The early stages of the invasion were a stunning success
With Helghast double agents even managing to disable the network of orbital defense platforms
surrounding Vekta.
A UCN counterattack however, combined with the actions of the war hero Jan Templar,
Routed the Helghast from the planet and paved the way for an invasion of Helghan itself.
In 2359, 10 ISA battle groups arrived over Helghan.
Despite their technological superiority and orbital blockade, the fleet begun taking
Significant losses to new weaponry based on petrusite - a powerful element native only to Helghan
Fierce Helghast resistance crippled the ISA and a counter-attack by infamous Helghast Colonel Radek
Succeeded in mortally wounding Templar, who managed to disable the petrusite shield perimeter around the Helghan capital of Pyrrhus in his
final moments
With the way to Pyrrhus open, the ISA launched a bold attack with the intention of capturing Scholar Vasari and ending the war
The fighting reached all the way to the Imperial Palace, but Vasari in the confusion was killed.
In death, he was transformed into a martyr
and the arrival of Helghan ships kept hidden in reserve destroyed any hopes of a sudden victory
Six months after the death of Vasari,
ISA forces on Helghan capitulated, formally ending the war in a status quo ante bellum.
In the wake of Visari's death, a political conflict over who would become his successor began dividing the Empire.
The two favourite candidates were Admiral Orlock, commander-in-chief of the armed forces and Jorhan Stahl,
influential chairman of Stahl Arms.
When Orlock was named Autarch, Stahl refused to hand over several prototype weapons and Helghan was plunged into civil war.
One such prototype was an enormous warship intended to decimate the surface of the earth with petrusite weaponry
annihilating the UCN leadership in a single stroke.
As fighting raged in orbit, ISA remnants were able to cripple the ship which then exploded in low orbit.
The superweapon's petrusite weaponry ignited a chain reaction, which spread across the surface of Helghan
obliterating most of the planet's population.
In time, the survivors would be transported to Vekta to live under the governance of a new successor state.
But the time of the Helghan Empire was at an end.
The Templin Institute investigates nations,
Organizations, and factions from alternate worlds and realities.
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