[TA] Tyflan Alliance

[Vhaerun]

Clan Name: Tyflan Alliance
Clan Tag: TA

Main Server: Helicon.Systems
Secondary Server: Galactica 1

Home System: Unknown, thought to be near Emerald

Current Members & Rank:

Vhaerun - Lieutenant

Mission: To establish stability in a hostile section of the galaxy. By whatever means necessary.

History:

In the late 2200s, about eight years after Evochron was colonized by humans, a small faction of freedom-thinking individuals decided to embark on something of a pilgrimage aboard a first-model Raven frame ship called Tyfli Pisti. The leader of this expedition, Soniram Exas, chose the name of the ship from his ancestral language, which, translated into English, roughly meant, "Blind Faith." Though he was not a religious man, Exas realized that setting off into the unknown sectors of nearby space required some faith. The only charted systems near their intended course were Lambda and Emerald.

Included in Exas's group were engineers, scientists, and several dozen others, all intent on spending their lives outside both Alliance and Federation control. The war between the two groups in the early-to-mid 2200s left most of them embittered and wanting nothing to do with either. Exas's message of a free society and living outside the bounds of Alliance or Federation dominion was received quite well.

In 2298, Exas and the other officers aboard the Tyfli Pisti announced they had found what would eventually be their home. The two massive construction machines they brought from Evochron began building the cities and machines they would need. The originally colonized planet in the system was named 'Tyflas' in honor of both the ship that brought them, and the man that lead them.

The success of Exas's gamble had several unforeseen effects. Positioned not far from the hostile system of Emerald, many hundreds of refugees arrived at Tyflas, flooding the cities with needy people. Now the leader of a growing population, Exas wanted to expand the cities on the planet, but the majority wanted the refugees relocated to the other planets in the system. Eventually, Exas had to bend to public opinion. The refugees were relocated to the other four planets and given their own constructors. By 2301, all five planets of the system had been colonized.

Another effect was the beacon of signal to pirates, smugglers, and rebels of the new system's sudden new riches of platinum, gold, and an incredible new plant (rata) discovered on one of the planets that made a much more durable, resistant, and comfortable cloth than cotton. Once word spread about these commodities, smugglers from Emerald, Lambda, Rigel, and Iota all made the system a definite stop-over for those needing to make money and avoid using the jump-gates that were heavily patrolled. With the location of the system being at a point between all four systems, it became known as the Crucias system, though residents of the system had always referred to it as the Tyflan system.

The third effect was generally the consequence of the other two effects. By 2308, tensions among the refugees from Emerald (and other systems like Rigel), reached a boiling point. When their hard work in cultivating rata and mining metals wasn't being stolen by thieves and pirates, it was the over-reaching group of higher-ups on Tyflas using the profits from trading the goods to line their own pockets and feed their own bellies. A small group of disgruntled fighter-pilots and mercenaries had been stockpiling ships and weapons for a few years, and when approached by leaders of the refugees, quickly agreed to start their own fight for independence from Tyflas.

The skirmish lasted just under three years until the refugees were dealt a crippling blow by a mercenary going by the name of 'Coda'. Having been on the losing side in several battles, the outnumbered Tyflans needed outside help. Coda launched attack after attack, and eventually the refugees had to capitulate. When it came time to pay the mercenary, though, the Tyflans didn't have the money Coda requested. Unable to come to an arrangement, Coda left the planet, but gave ominous warning about stiffing a mercenary.

It took another five years for Coda to return, but he did with an even more impressive fighter, and the backing of several mercenary guild members. Without warning, the mercenaries flew into Tyflan airspace and laid waste to a section of their major city, Rilea. Unable to mount a defense, the Tyflans tried to flee, but their ships were shot down. Facing what could have been the end of their lives, the Tyflans offered complete surrender. Coda and the mercenaries accepted.

After the Rilean Battle in 2315, the system enjoyed relative calm for a while. Coda had installed himself as chancellor, allowed the surviving Tyflans to remain, and enacted laws to tighten the system and make it not such a safe haven for criminals. Piracy rates dropped, and all five planets enjoyed a prosperity they hadn't seen before, even if the mercenary militia Coda had assembled were found in nearly every part of the sector. When Coda died in 2337, he left behind a strong, yet small, collection of friendly planets. He was succeeded by a mercenary named Lucas Murphy.

Though he was one of Coda's most trusted lieutenants, Murphy was little more than a figurehead. He wasn't as savvy or intuitive, and definitely did not have the pilot skills his predecessor had. Behind Murphy's back, criminal activity again began to rear its head. Rata was being smuggled out of the system by the ton. New discoveries in other locations, and the newly (old) lax security in Crucias/Tyflan system brought about extreme contraband trade. Around this time, the corrupt officials were beginning to be called 'the authority' in a rather derogatory way, but the name stuck quickly and even began to be used by the government themselves. The credits and gold pouring in was enough to buy authority silence on the subject... for a few years.

The breaking point came in December of 2351 when news-wire transmissions reported the downing of a heavily modified Scorpion class transport. Inside the cargo hold of the ship, emergency crews found the bodies of 147 men, women, and children, chained to the bulkhead and each other. The ship's pilot was arrested and charged with transporting humans for slavery purposes. While the story didn't resonate beyond the nearby systems, it shocked many into realizing the depth of corruption the authority had reached. Unfortunately, with such deep corruption, there was difficulty in removing it. High ranking officials wanted to keep their positions, and Murphy was first among them. Though they were unable to quell the unrest, Murphy and his cohorts were able to rig the election they so graciously allowed to take place. The authority had the money, the ships, and the firepower to keep the system under their control until 2378.

By that year, Lucas Murphy had stepped down and was replaced by an equally corrupt official named Ben Amir Thornton. There was some hope that he might be a welcome change, as Thornton was the great-grandson of one of the original Tyflans that followed Exas out of Evochron. There was no such luck. Thornton proved just as corrupt as Murphy, and much more violent, while not being a strong strategist.

Pirates thrived in the system and in the space around. Criminals of all types were just beneath the surface. The strong authority military was heavy-handed and corrupt. As the years wore on and news-wire stories of criminal activities were continually covered up, the Crucias system became synonymous with dregs, deceit, and corruption. By the end of 2377, it had become such a problem that neighboring systems were becoming involved. A meeting between leaders of these systems and a small group of concerned mercenaries took place in the early months of 2378. Forming a temporary alliance, this group elected mercenary Damon Lohr as their leader, and charged him with eliminating the corruption and villainy that had taken root.

The initial engagement took place late in 2378, involving several ships under Lohr's command and a faction of pirates known to operate in the sector. The mercenaries were successful, pushing back the pirates and re-establishing a long suffering trade route. The authority in the area didn't respond to the skirmish. Emboldened, Lohr and his small group began eliminating smugglers and slave-traders. Early in 2379, the two most well-known criminal organizations appealed to Thornton and the authority to eliminate the vigilante group.

Minor fighting led into larger engagements throughout 2379 and 2380. Casualties on both sides were low, but loss of equipment, ships, and cargo was heavy, especially on the authority side. Having been a mercenary since his teenage years, Lohr had ample experience in defeating military and guerrilla tactics. As with most corrupt regimes, those in command would hire and promote their friends and benefactors rather than who was most competent. Ability and morale began to wane within the authority, and rumors began to circulate about these being the last days of Thornton and his men.

On April 27th, 2381, the largest battle of the conflict was fought in orbit of the largest planet in the Tyflan system. Authority forces were ambushed by thirty ships, including a transport outfitted with destroyer weaponry, all led by Damon Lohr. Though they suffered heavy losses, the mercenary group was eventually successful in breaking through the authority line and made for the main technological center on the planet. Factories and assembly stations were leveled to cripple the authority. Without any resistance, the allied ships began advancing on the authority's main command center. Knowing that his time was up, and after losing much of his fleet, Thornton escaped with a dozen ships, heading out of the system to parts unknown.

With the authority finally ousted from power, there was a lot of work to be done. Though hesitant to give another mercenary command of the system, the majority of people wanted Lohr to take on the position. With reluctance, he agreed, provided there would be sweeping reforms in laws and rights among the people. It took another year for the conflict to die out completely, and then two more for a new ruling council to be installed. This ruling council included representatives from each of the five planets in the system, and has been quite stable since.

Lohr was more interested in peace and stability in the surrounding areas, and less with policing its residents. He called for a meeting of nearby system leaders, companies, traders, and mercenaries at a neutral starport. After two months of hard negotiating, the Tyflan Alliance was born.

In the time since, the Tyflan Alliance has worked hard to carve out a niche in the nearby star systems. While nominally located in the Tyflan system, they have spread to neighboring systems, including Lambda and Iota, and have some influence. Rebuilding a society that was crushed by the corrupt authority has been taxing, nearly draining the economy of the Tyflan system. Since the gains in nearby systems, they have had to cut back their numbers, especially with regard to exploration and trade.

Damon Lohr still heads the Tyflan Alliance, but he no longer pilots, his eyes and reflexes having deteriorated with age. The lead explorer and trader goes by the callsign Vhaerun, who is known to go far and wide to procure what the Tyflan Alliance and system needs.

The future... is unwritten.

[Edited on 1-4-2015 by Vhaerun]

[Vhaerun]

OOC: Due to Galactica's instabilities, [TA] is moving its main server to Helicon for now.

[DaveK]

HB wish you good luck with your new clan!

I love the history!

[Iron man]

Nice story wish you good continuation

[Vhaerun]

Thanks. It took me a while to write. After writing out a timeline researched off SeeJay's website, and wasting about an hour of my work day, I'm pretty pleased with it.

[SeeJay]

Good stuff and welcome.