The Second Extrasolar War ended with the death of an entire world.
Experimental petrusite warheads, intended to be used against Earth, were instead ignited
over Helghan.
The detonation catalyzed in the planet’s atmosphere and petrusite fueled atomic fire
tore across its surface.
In seconds, the Helghan Empire had been destroyed.
The Helghast people had paid the price for their relentless desire for power, but even
the victors of the conflict were horrified at its cost.
The survivors of what would become known as the Terracide were limited to the lucky few
who had time to seek protection in underground shelters and those who had been safely offworld
at the time of the attack.
In a torrid irony, the Helghan military, those most responsible for the destruction of their
homeworld, remained at least partially intact.
Its fleets in orbit had been shieldest against the majority of the petrusite detonation and
they remained the last bargaining chip left to the Helghast.
Unwilling and perhaps unable to defeat what would almost certainly be a final suicidal
attack by remnant Helghast forces, the United Colonial Nations and the Interplanetary Strategic
Alliance agreed to an armistice.
Vekta, jewel of the Alpha Centauri system and long the target of Helghast ambitions,
was partitioned.
Half the planet would remain under the authority of the UCN, and a new Helghan regime would
be granted sovereignty over the rest.
In 2360, Helghan warships appeared over Vekta.
For the first time however, these were not the vanguard of an invasion, but transports
bringing the scattered refugees of a defeated people to their new home.
A year later, the Helghan Republic was founded.
Optimistically referred to as “New Helghan”, the young republic quickly emulated the worst
aspects of its predecessor.
Hera Visari, daughter of the man most responsible for the Helghan nation, was appointed Chancellor
of a new civilian government.
The dominance of the military even before the events of the Terracide prevented any
political reforms however.
While Hera Visari sought to avoid the same mistakes that had ruined her people, true
power was consolidated within the military, reducing her to little more than a figurehead.
Today the Helghan Republic is nearly indistinguishable from the Helghan Empire.
It is a totalitarian police state that exerts total control over its populace.
Unlike its predecessor however, the Republic lacks the economic power and population to
maintain even the current state of its military.
The state has worked to restore its centralized industrial potential above any other consideration.
Heavy manufacturing plants and space elevators dominate the Helghast sector of Vekta, while
its citizens suffer from poverty, famine, and rampant shortages of consumer goods.
Mass graves have been reported in the Helghan sector alongside desperate acts of cannibalism.
Government sponsored initiatives intended to maintain a high birth rate and repopulate
the Helghan race have further complicated the situation and led to unsustainable demographics.
Dire conditions amongst the lower classes have led to widespread crime and the formation
of various extremist and anti-government groups.
The most prevalent of these is the Black Hand, terrorists hoping to start a new war between
the Helghast and the ISA.
They despise the policies of appeasement set by their own government and attack civilian
targets on both sides of Vekta.
The rise of tensions on Vekta was epitomized in the construction of the Vektan-Helghast
Wall, an enormous barrier physically separating each side.
Ironically, the construction of the wall was the only joint venture in which both the Vektans
and Helghast have cooperated with one another.
The wall passes through the core of Vekta City, and the isolated communities on either
side now exist in starkly contrasting states.
The Helghast Army remains a shadow of its former self and unable to maintain its former
doctrine of attrition warfare on a vast scale.
Instead, the mass formations it utilized in the Second Extrasolar War were restructured
into smaller units emphasizing tactical flexibility and superior firepower.
To offset its numerical disadvantage, the Helghan armed forces are increasingly reliant
on drones and robotics.
Its Navy is likewise a pale reflection of former Helghast glory.
The ships which loom over the Vekta sector are relics from the Second Extrasolar War,
intermittently retrofitted, but hardly a match for modern ISA warships.
But unbeknownst to ISA Intelligence and even some of the highest members of New Helghan’s
civilian government, the decrepit state of the Helghast military was in fact a ruse,
meant to conceal the largest rearmament campaign in human history.
Only a portion of Helghan’s survivors had taken refuge on Vekta.
Others had remained on their broken homeworld, establishing a new military apparatus deep
beneath the planet’s shattered surface.
Mining operations had been established on a scale far larger than was publically reported,
clandestinely providing raw materials for a restored military industrial complex.
Under the leadership of Jorhan Stahl, the main architect behind the petrusite weapons
detonated over Helghan, hundreds of new warships had been constructed and the Helghast military
restored.
Once the full extent of the Helghast’s presence on their homeworld was realized, the ISA moved
to counter it.
Losses were horrific on both sides and only the actions of a select few prevented the
situation from escalating into a renewed total war.
If there is one trait above all the Helghast have repeatedly demonstrated it is their remarkable
capacity for survival.
Perhaps no other group in human history could endure the same struggle without breaking
and in spite of their suffering, they remain capable of winning for themselves a new future.
What shape that future will take however remains difficult to predict.
Many within the Republic’s government only want peace and prosperity for their people,
but control still remains within the cabal of military leaders who desperately want to
restore their former glory.
The final words of Scolar Visari promised that his death would bring about only madness.
History, thus far, has proven him right.
The Templin Institute investigates alternate worlds and realities.
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