- "Hapan Politics are brutal. [...] Because of me, enough blood has been shed to drown the citizens of Hapes twice over."
- — Jenarvia Misa Avori
The Hapan Civil War was a war of succession between two of the Great Houses of the Hapes Consortium: House Avori and House Zyier. Both houses claimed to have the rightful heir to the throne after the unexpected assassination of the previous Queen Mother, Ta'a Chume, and her entire royal lineage.
Even though Jenarvia Misa Avori was elected as the rightful Queen Mother by the Great Houses, her rival, Azonia Zyier, took exception to the ruling and tried to take over the Hapes Cluster by force instead. The two each had nearly equal support amongst the Great Houses, resulting in a stalemate that lasted over two standard months as each side tried to persuade the remaining undecided Houses to side with them.
The stalemate was eventually broken when Jenarvia and her bodyguard, Arien Garix, led a guerilla strike against Azonia in what became the Battle of Hapes. Jenarvia's forces managed to win the battle, retaking the planet and killing Azonia in the process.
Jenarvia would later learn Arien's true identity as a Dark Lord of the Cult of Shadow and that he had engineered the entire civil war to secretly take control of the Hapes Cluster so it wouldn't become a target for the Charon Death Cult. Rather than imprison or execute Arien, Jenarvia weighed her options as she considered his actions and ultimately decided to trust that he was on her side.
Soon enough the War of Darkness would enter its most gruesome phase as the horrors that Arien had promised became true and several worlds were ravaged by the Charon. Hapes remained unaffected due to it ostensibly being under the control of Arien and, through him, the Cult of Shadow. In practice, Arien merely kept up appearances to keep the rest of the cult from interfering in the Hapes Cluster as he became Jenarvia's royal consort.
Together they would create a new royal lineage that would last well beyond the War of Darkness and the Cult of Shadow.
History[]
Sinister Origins[]
- "Hapes will be cleansed of the rot infecting it even if it has to be burned to get it all."
- — Arien Garix
Although Arien Garix departed from the Hapes Cluster for the greater galaxy during the rise of the Galactic Empire, he considered himself a Hapan patriot at heart. He always made sure to find ways to stay current on the news within the Hapes Consortium just in case something occurred that he felt would require his talents to solve. As Arien watched events unfold within the Cluster, he began see patterns about the direction Hapes was headed towards and it didn't sit well with him.
By the time he joined the Cult of Shadow, Arien felt it was imperative for him to finally enact a plan of his own to remove Queen Mother Ta'a Chume and her family. Once they were eliminated he would be able to install a new Queen Mother that he could manipulate to rule the government as he saw fit. He selected Azonia Zyier to be his eventual puppet since she belonged to a Great House and was one of the most likely candidates to succeed Ta'a Chume in the unlikely event that her lineage would suddenly end. The only potential rival Azonia had was Jenarvia Misa Avori, but she had fled into exile years before.
Arien used his charm and abilities to gain Azonia's trust and subtly plant ideas into her head that she would make a much better Queen Mother than Ta'a Chume. Eventually the notion was so firmly set in Azonia's mind that she was willing to do anything to remove Ta'a Chume and start her own dynasty as the new Queen Mother.
Arien stressed patience since one mistake could create a lot of problems, but soon enough other factors began to take shape that would force his hand. Jenarvia's mother, Larana, was struck with a wasting disease and wouldn't survive long until the illness took her life. Her death had a high probability of drawing Jenarvia back to Hapes for the funeral and potentially getting in the way of the Great Houses voting for Azonia as the new Queen Mother. Additionally, Arien had deduced that Sivter planned to gain control of the Charon Death Cult and use them against his enemies. Arien knew that if he was to protect Hapes against the Charon, he would need to have control of the Consortium before Sivter completed his goal.
Despite the issue of time, Arien was unwilling to act until he felt conditions were right to install Azonia on the throne. The opportunity came when Ta'a Chume opened up negotiations with the Actium Alignment to begin exclusive trade rights and form a defense pact. Despite Ta'a Chume's assurances, it was not a popular move with the Great Houses or the general populace to ally with an outside government and Arien knew there would be no better time to remove her and the rest of the royal family.
Ending a Dynasty[]
- "Once again I, and I alone, know what is best for Hapes. For today is a new chapter in our glorious history."
- — Ta'a Chume, last words
The Star Home.
The start of the war would begin after the Star Home returned from its diplomatic visit to the Actium Alignment. Queen Mother Ta'a Chume was hosting the Actium delegation on the eve of signing an alliance with them. Due to the historical importance of the event the entire royal family was in attendance on the Star Home. Arien provided a virus to Azonia and had one of her servants board the Star Home to upload it into the main computer.
Once it was uploaded, the virus automatically activated and disabled the safeguards on all six of the reactors of the ancient ship before initiating a cascade overload. The resulting explosion occurred with little to no warning and killed everyone onboard, suddenly leaving the Hapes Consortium without a Queen Mother or a clear line of succession.
Complications[]
- "I’m sorry, Jenarvia. I don’t have any choice in this… and now neither do you."
- — Miriya Avori
Jenarvia Avori returns to Hapes for her mother's funeral.
While Arien was executing his plan to clear the line of succession for Azonia to become nominated as the new Queen Mother, a complication occurred that would have a bigger impact on his plans than he could ever guess. A short time before the destruction of Star Home, Larana Avori finally succumbed to the wasting disease that had afflicted her. Her death prompted the return of her estranged daughter, Jenarvia.
Despite an attempt to send pirates to destroy her ship before it could reach Hapes, Jenarvia was able to arrive on the planet to attend her mother's funeral. In an ironic twist, Jenarvia was set to leave again after the ceremony, but the destruction of Star Home irrevocably changed her plans. Her aunt, Miriya Avori, would submit Jenarvia as a possible candidate to be the next Queen Mother in opposition to Azonia's claim.
Both women came from prestigious houses and had the necessary training and upbringing to be considered legitimate, so it would come down to a vote among the various Houses on who the next ruler would be.
A Fateful Meeting[]
- "Allow me to introduce myself, Lady Avori. My name is Arien Garix, representative of Arabanth. I belong to no House, but you could say my kinship is with a Force at least as influential."
- — Arien Garix to Jenarvia Avori
Arien, well aware that Jenarvia had enough support among the Great Houses to potentially win against Azonia, decided that it was time for him to intervene personally. Using his connections, he was able to attend Jenarvia's ceremony as she was sworn in as the new leader of House Avori. His plan was to meet with Jenarvia, lead her to somewhere out of the way, and quietly eliminate her.
But then something happened that Arien did not expect... after speaking with Jenarvia, he found himself captivated by her intelligence, wit, and determination. In a short amount of time the two felt an attraction to each other.
It was a striking difference from Azonia, who had cunning, but was completely amoral and driven by a lust for power. Arien realized that while Azonia's flaws made her easy to manipulate to his liking, Jenarvia would make the superior Queen Mother and ultimately be better for Hapes in the long run.
It was then that Arien found himself in a unique position of having to defeat his own carefully laid plans. Rather than be frustrated by the sudden turn of events, he reveled in the challenge ahead of him.
Switching Sides[]
- "My interests are in securing your interests."
- — Rajan Callon to Abril Zyier
Meanwhile Azonia had been working to secure her rise to power. She sought out other allies aside from Arien and was answered by the Shadow Imperium. Using her brother, Abril, as a go-between, Azonia began to set her own schemes into motion. The Shadow Imperium had sent their 1st Battle Fleet, led by Rajan Callon; one of the Imperium's top agents. Their help was contingent on an eventual alliance with Hapes once Azonia had secured her position as Queen Mother. Until that happened, she was careful to keep her connections with the Imperium a secret, preferring to use them only when they would be needed and not before.
As the days counted down to the all-important vote, Arien quickly began to earn Jenarvia's trust. After saving her from another assassination attempt at Ka’Dan landing field, he was promoted to be her head of security. His skills would come in handy on the day of the vote. Jenarvia would win the vote to become the new Queen Mother by a small margin, but Azonia accused her of treason and declared herself to be the true Queen Mother. Azonia's "evidence" was backed up by Jenarvia's cousin, Aurana Avori, who wanted Jenarvia out of the picture so she could lead House Avori.
A running battle resulted as Jenarvia had no choice but to flee or be captured by Azonia's forces and then likely executed. As Jenarvia made her escape, any kind of quick resolution to the conflict faded away. The rest of the Great Houses were forced to choose a side regarding which Queen Mother they considered to be legitimate. It was an almost even split down the middle, with 21 Houses swearing allegiance to House Avori, 25 siding with House Zyier, and 17 remaining neutral.
The fate of the Hapes Consortium would depend on whoever could convince the remaining houses to side with them.
A Long Stalemate[]
- "Jenarvia Avori finds herself in the same situation we do, her forces are spread thin, locked in stalemate. [...] As things stand the war will drag on for some considerable time. She can no more afford that than you can."
- — Illisa Verbari to Azonia Zyier
Azonia Zyier, self-proclaimed Queen Mother.
The resulting civil war quickly stalled into a stalemate, with neither side able to muster the resources to take new territory without spreading their forces thin in order to try and hold it. The forces loyal to House Zyier held the capital planet of Hapes while those who followed House Avori set their headquarters on the Avori ancestral home of Terephon.
After two standard months of being stuck without either side making much progress, it was determined that something had to be done to disrupt the status quo that the war had taken. Both sides knew that controlling the planet Hapes was the key to ultimately winning the war. The longer Azonia controlled the Hapan capital, the more legitimate her rule would appear to be. However, if Jenarvia's forces were able to retake it, then she would likely be able to rally many of the neutral houses to her side.
Towards that end, Jenarvia concocted a daring plan to strike at Hapes, but the actual battle would be a feint to distract Azonia's forces from a strike team sent in advance to infiltrate the Fountain Palace and kill Azonia. Unbeknownst to Jenarvia, Azonia was setting her own trap for her rival by appearing to send away some of the forces protecting Hapes to strike at one of the planets held by Jenarvia's forces.
With both sides planning the downfall of the other, the war would soon come to an end; one way or another.
The Final Battle[]
- "Hapes must be taken, that is the key to the war. If I fall, if Azonia escapes, we can still win this if we control Hapes."
- — Jenarvia Misa Avori
The start of the Battle of Hapes seemed to favor Azonia and her forces. Her fleet was led by Admiral Iissa Verbari, a veteran officer of the Hapan Navy that saw Azonia's coup as an opportunity to advance her own career. Verbari had numerical superiority and the protection of the planetary satellite defense network at her flank. She also had been warned ahead of time that Jenarvia's forces would be attacking the capital, so she had plenty of time to optimize her defensive position.
Jenarvia's fleet was led by Admiral Dalis Lortana, a capable officer in her own right. Dalis was aware ahead of time that a straight engagement against the forces protecting Hapes would be unwinnable, but she also knew that her role was just to keep Azonia's forces busy. Two strike teams had been secretly sent to the surface of the planet in advance of the battle, one led by Arien Garix and the other led by Jenarvia Avori herself.
Arien's team managed to take control of the satellite defense network and subvert it to fire on any ships loyal to Azonia. Once the battle started in orbit, the satellites activated and fulfilled their new programming. Iissa and her fleet were unexpectedly caught in a crossfire between the defense grid and the ships under Dalis' command. Despite suffering heavy losses, Iissa was able to hold out long enough for the defense grid to be disabled and for reinforcements from the Crimson Empire to arrive to help her.
With the arrival of Azonia's secret allies, Jenarvia's loyalists once again faced a tough battle, but they also had one last trick of their own and brought in their own reinforcements: a pirate fleet that had pledged loyalty to Jenarvia in exchange for being absolved of all their past crimes. With the sides relatively even once more, both forces fought hard to try and achieve a decisive victory over the other side.
However, the true fate of Hapes was being decided by Jenarvia and her strike team on the planet, who managed to infiltrate the Fountain Palace with the sole objective of capturing and eliminating Azonia.
Securing the Throne[]
- "There’s nowhere for you to go except your own inevitable death."
- — Arien Garix to Rajan Callon
Arien Garix duels Rajan Callon for the fate of Hapes.
While the space battle was being fought above the planet, Jenarvia and her strike team were able to enter the Fountain Palace undetected using secret tunnels known only to the Hapan Royal Guard. After a brief fight in the Chamber of Representatives, Jenarvia was able to capture Azonia and use a Gun of Command to get her rival to confess the truth about her crimes. Azonia had no choice but to reveal everything she knew, including that she had been following a plan set in place by Arien before he had betrayed her in favor of Jenarvia.
Arien, who had arrived at the palace shortly after Azonia's capture, didn't attempt to deny any of it. He confirmed it all, but claimed that it had all been necessary to save Hapes from a much worse fate. Before Jenarvia could question Arien further, Rajan Callon arrived and demanded the return of Azonia or, alternatively, for Jenarvia to honor the deal that Azonia had made with his masters. Jenarvia refused both ultimatums and decided to trust in Arien to defend her against Rajan.
The resulting duel between the two users of the Dark Side would end up being a pivotal factor in deciding the fate of the civil war and the future of Hapes. Rajan's battle prowess and his zealotry to accomplish his mission regardless of what it might cost him made him a formidable threat, but Arien was able to counter his opponent with clever battle tactics and a much more diverse array of abilities.
During the duel Azonia would end up being killed by a crossfire between Jenarvia's strike team and the forces Rajan had brought with him. The final fatal shot came from Jenarvia herself to make sure Azonia would not survive. Rajan would fall to Arien's lightsaber blade soon afterwards. Despite being enemies, Arien respected Rajan enough to promise the dying man that he would remember his name.
Abril Zyier, faced with the news that his sister as well as her contact with the Crimson Empire were both dead, decided to make a deal with Jenarvia to peacefully end the war in exchange for his life. After a deal was struck, he commanded the remaining ships in orbit that had been loyal to Azonia to turn against the Crimson Empire fleet to help drive them out of Hapan territory. After that was accomplished, he had the survivors stand down and surrender to Jenarvia's forces, revealing to them Azonia's treachery and her death at the hands of Jenarvia.
It would mark the end of the Hapan Civil War and the start of Jenarvia's rule as the one true Queen Mother of Hapes.
Aftermath[]
- "Hapes will survive even if the rest of the galaxy tears itself into pieces."
- — Arien Garix
After the civil war ended, Jenarvia consolidated her power and had every House swear loyalty to her rule. She kept true to the promises she had made to the Hapan pirates who had aided her during the Battle of Hapes. Their crimes were absolved and they were allowed to return to the Hapan worlds as free citizens once more. She would also enact several measures to try and raise the equality of males within Hapan society, including placing several males in influential positions throughout the Consortium. Despite this, a few positions remained barred to males, including leadership of a House, or taking the place of a Queen Mother.
Azonia Zyier would become an infamous figure in Hapan history after the war. Her name would become synonymous with being a traitor. Several unflattering titles, such as the "Mad Queen", would be posthumously associated with her legacy.
House Zyier would suffer the most repercussions after the end of the war. Their status as a Great House was reduced and they were forced to pay out reparations to House Avori for their part in trying to lead a coup against the rightful Queen Mother. Abril Zyier's actions to help end the civil war and drive out the Crimson Empire spared his life and kept House Zyier from being completely disbanded. With the death of his sister, he helped run House Zyier until a new female heir could come of age.
Aurana Avori, who had been used by Azonia to corroborate her manufactured evidence against Jenarvia during the vote for the new Queen Mother, was excommunicated from House Avori. No other House would risk Jenarvia's ire by providing shelter for the disgraced noble and Aurana was forced to take what resources and wealth she had stashed away and flee into exile. She would live out her life after the civil war under an assumed name.
Arien and Jenarvia[]
- "Regardless of how you view what I’ve done, I assure you my intentions are that of a loyal son of Hapes."
- — Arien Garix to Jenarvia Misa Avori
Arien Garix's role as the catalyst behind the Hapan Civil War was never made public. Only Jenarvia and a handful of Hapan Royal Guards knew the actual truth of his actions. The guards were sworn to an oath of secrecy upon pain of death and many of the things Arien orchestrated, including the destruction of Star Home, were blamed on Azonia or the interference of the Crimson Empire.
Jenarvia made the decision to cover up Arien's involvement for several reasons: he was a powerful ally, his loyalty to her and to Hapes seemed genuine, and as far as she could tell, he had never once lied to her. Even when she had learned the truth about him, Arien never attempted to deny any of it and was straightforward with her about his entire plan to take control of Hapes. The fact that thousands had died because of his actions to put her on the throne didn't phase Jenarvia too much. Hapan politics were often quite bloody.
Arien would end up with a reputation as one of the heroes of the civil war despite his status as a "Jedi" making him a somewhat controversial figure. The controversy wasn't helped when he became the official royal consort to Jenarvia and the father of her three children. However even his most ardent detractors had trouble criticizing his dedication to Jenarvia, their children, or the betterment of Hapes.
Jenarvia, with Arien at her side, would continue to rule Hapes well past the War of Darkness and the existence of the Cult of Shadow.
Threads[]
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