Gorn Hegemony

Once a mighty Empire, today's Gorn Hegemony is a shadow of its former self. Populated by the Gorn, a species of large reptiliods, it currently seeks to expand its presence on the interstellar stage and reclaim some or all of its former glory. A hereditary monarchy, the Hegemony is currently ruled by King Sorsharnn. It's space forces consist of the Gorn Royal Fleet, which fields relatively-modern ships.

History
Hailing from Gornar, the Gorn have been spacefaring since approximately 3000 BCE. Thier first settled world was Centotaph, which became a funary colony for Gorn notables and leaders. They continued to expand, and settled the colony worlds that would form the core of their territory: Seudath, Bygoth, and Ghidar. By 1000 BCE the Gorn government had moved from Gornar to Ghidar, which was becoming the industrial, trade, and social center of a rapidly expanding Empire. The Gorn in those times were friendly to outsiders, and though practiced slavery, considered themselves enlightened. The Hegemony became an Empire, initially consolidated under one ruler, and eventually they established a parliament with strong powers. The Empire dominated most of what is now considered the coreward frontier and Klingon space, territory modern Gorn still believe is rightfully theirs.

The Gorn Empire reached its height approximately 1000 years ago, in the 1200s. It's primary rival was the Orion Empire, a much younger empire who practiced slavery that was barbaric even by Gorn standards. The two great powers fought several open wars and by the 1350's were openly skirmishing. The last war had ended in the establishment of a neutral zone, which included the now-important worlds of Earth and Tellar Prime. One of the few things the two Empires could agree on was a policy of no obvious interference with prewarps, though both sides did capture some members of prewarps for research or as exotic slaves.

The Hur'q invasion arrived just as open warfare between the two states was about to break out. It shattered the power of the Gorn Empire, and they fought a bitter conflict to their very homeworlds, as their old enemies collapsed into anarchy and their slaves rose up on Rigel. The Klingons soon emerged as confident and brash regional power, claiming a major section of former Gorn territory. Reeling from the loss, the Gorn King went mad, slaying one of his sons in a fit of rage before descending into a hopeless state of forgetfulness and waking nightmares. The territory loss was enough for the religious institutions of the Gorn to declare that he was the Last Emperor, the madness a sign from S'Yahazah that the Gorn were now once again merely a Hegemony. His successor blamed the Hur'q on foreign influences and a lack of faith and tradition. He moved the capital back to Gornar, expelled women from political life, and enslaved all remaining foreign nationals.

The Gorn spent the next hundreds years in various states of upheaval and conflict with the Klingons, while attempting to expand their former territory. They eventually ran into conflict with the Imelak, running their own Empire in the coreward region. The two nations eventually came to blows in the midst of what is now known to be Ittick-Ka space, shattering each other and sending the Gorn into another spiral that lead to them being reduced to their core four colonies.

Major Species
The Gorn are a lizard-like species, possessing powerful biting jaws and sharp claws. They have thick, scaly skin that is difficult to peice, and have strong regenerative powers. One particular trait of note is their long life-spans: even relatively miserable commoners will live to 150 years; nobility will often reach 300 years, with the oldest Gorn recorded at 450 years old. This has profound consequences on politics, and the long generations are important to bear in mind -- the fall of the Gorn Empire is only three generations removed for most of the Gorn political leadership, versus the distant past for most other species.

Space Organization and Military
The Gorn military is nowhere near the mythic thousand-ship fleet that clashed with the Orions in the apocalyptic Battle of Vonnet’s Tears. However, they maintain a technically-advanced and potent fleet, designed to protect and overwhelm neighbours and potential invaders. Their armies and invasion forces are even more fearsome, consisting legions of regenerative and physically powerful soldiers armed with disruptor rifles that would be classified as cannons in the hands of smaller species.

The Gorn military is split into the Army, Marine Forces, Royal Fleet, and the Secret Department. The Army handles all surface actions and is the primary invasion unit of the Gorn Hegemony. They also maintain the peace on outlying colonies or in unruly areas where local police is too corrupt or incapable of handling serious opposition. The Marine forces are responsible for surface actions on bodies of water, and include riverine elements for policing the extensive waterways of Gornar and other worlds. The Gorn Royal Fleet is the might of the Gorn Hegemony, a proud force that handles exploratory and defense duties beyond the atmospheres of Gorn planets. They include the Spatial Infantry, aerospace infantry detachments used to secure beachheads and conduct boarding actions. Finally, the Secret Department is the Special Operations directorate of the Hegemony, responsible for covert action and intelligence gathering. Part of the Secret Department is the elite Kingsguard, a regimental-sized bodyguard unit for the King, close family members, and occasionally very important VIPs.

In the Gorn Army, equipment standards vary from unit to unit. Elite units bear some of the most cutting edge equipment in the known galaxy, while other divisions have to make due with a patchwork of inefficent suppliers and weapons. These units are also often made up of conscripts, damaging morale and motivation. The fact that the Gorn are working hard to revitalize their ground forces is a worrying sign to many, as the purpose of a large army in the modern era to is to pacify unruly and conquered populations. It also has the additional effect of providing Gorn administrators with an increasingly-capable force for crushing civil discontent.

Location and Major Worlds
Gornar, the Gorn homeworld, and the major Gorn world of Ghidar are located in B-10. Gornar is a jungle world, covered in thick, dense swamps and vegetation. Due to Gorn industrial activity, the planet has seen increased desertification at the equator, and populations have fled to the already-overcrowded coastal cities of the south. The planets of core Gorn territory are nearly tapped out for resources. While they have productive colonies, they are looking beyond their borders for more resources to feed a hungry economy.

Government and politics
The Gorn King is at the center of all political life in the Gorn Hegemony. A purely autocratic state, the King is the legislature, the executive, and the final court of appeals all in one. The only laws he cannot override are those of heredity, and certain religious laws of the Holy Assembly. Chancellors of the Collegium are appointed by him and serve at his pleasure; any decision they make regarding government staffing and operations can be overridden by him in an instant. This is in direct contrast to the Gorn Empire of 1000 years ago, which had a robust, elected Collegiate of Ministers that could moderate the Emperor's decision. Records of this institution are scattered, held in semi-secret by powerful or progressive Gorn families. The only significant challenger to the King’s power are his own sons and the Prince of Gihdahr, the ruler of a powerful colony world who, by the laws of heredity, would take the throne if the King was ever without successors.

The Gorn administration is divided into separate ministries, known as collegium. The highest position in a collegium is that of Chancellor, usually a senior noble. They work with senior administrators and bureaucrats within the collegium, who may be minor nobles or commoners working to become nobility. However, particularly important collegium are often headed by a member of the royal family, who the chancellor then assists. The head of a Collegium, regardless of if they are a Chancellor, a Princess, a Prince, or Queen, are known as the ‘Executor’ of the college, in order to clear up titles and roles.

Nobility is hereditary and necessary to be part of any level of the government. However, the demands of running an interstellar empire has forced the Government to come up with methods to allow more Gorn to join the ranks of the nobility. First is through military service; a Gorn that reaches officer rank and serves 75 years in the military will automatically be given personal nobility, and if they reach a high enough rank, will gain the right to pass on that heredity. As an attempt to pacify the growing power of the merchant class, the government also now allows hereditary nobility to be bought outright, although the old and military families frequently discriminate against them. The highest of the nobility, those close to the Gorn King, live in rich opulence, and maintain extensive estates and host lavish parties. However, to sit so close to the sun of the King is to invite being burned, and many families have lost hundreds of years of work in an instant when they cross the monarch. Those lower on the ladder can be barely richer than the serfs they nominally oversee, powerful in title but impoverished in practice, which only increases resentment against the burgeoning bourgeoisie-barons.

Gorn Kings take on many wives. Traditionally, they have held important ceremonial roles and were vital in securing alliances with powerful families, but have been left out of important leadership decisions. However, the inevitable interbreeding resulted in birth defects. Reforms were intorduced with the backing of the merchant and academic classes to address this issue, and concerns of meritocracy in the Empire, by encouraging Queens to be selected based on education, talent, and accomplishment, not just the purity of their bloodline. Sorsharnn’s Grandfather exemplified this new tradition by marrying a common woman who was a powerful community leader and industrialist, and made her the head of his government collegium of industry. Since then, Queens of the Gorn Empire are typically made the heads of the various collegia, assisted by the senior deputies of those institutions. However, their primary role is still seen as providing many offspring for the King, partially as a method to ensure the bloodline continues and also to gain the blessing of S'Yahazah.

Despite the laws of hereditary being the only firm laws in the Gorn corpus, successions after the death of a King are often bloody and brutal. With so many possible male heirs in a typical royal family, and the vast power available to those who sit on the throne, struggles for power rarely go smoothly. Even the most peaceful of them may require the murder of a minor brother or sister as a warning to others. The Crown Prince of the Gorn Hegemony, therefore, spends much of his time concerned with currying favor with senior military officers, who will be the deciding factor in any succession crisis.

Major Political Groups
There are currently two camps in the Gorn political sphere. Florists believe that the Gorn Hegemony should to some degree follow the paths of the Orions, and seek an alliance with a great power. They back a stronger diplomatic and foreign policy perspective, with an eye to making allies and strengthening the Gorn that way. The Florists are lead by Crown Prince Sorlenn and one of his favorite princesses, Saphorix of Foreign Affairs. They also have backing from Admiral Grannar, famously fought Captain Kirk.

The Reclaimers think differently. To them, the Galaxy is currently a nest of squatters, sitting on Gorn territory. They believe the Gorn will only become more powerful if they begin to expand their borders, and build the wealth of their core via tributaries and vassals. The Reclaimers are lead by Prince Celzash, with major backing in the form of his mother, Queen Xambris, who leads the Collegium of War, and his sister Princess Ziamin.

Both sides are motivated by a desire to be crowned Rzar, the first in 1000 years, by meeting the conditions set by the Gorn Holy Assembly for Empire status. This may lead even the normally diplomacy-supporting Florists into launching a war, to secure vassals and territory. Conversely, the Reclaimers did little to sabotage diplomatic outreach to the Dawiar, sensing the ability to gain an ally for a low cost who could help with future conquests.

Foreign Relations
The Gorn maintain cordial relations with the Klingons, mostly to prevent the ultimate humiliation of being conquered by them. This was, for much of recent history, the entirety of their diplomatic outreach, as evidenced by their hostile encounter with the United Federation of Planets at Cestus III. However, the King, at the behest of the Crown Prince, has begun to do more official outreach. A major and early diplomatic coup was a deal with the Cardassians to make the Gorn allies of the Dawiar. They have also engaged in direct diplomacy with the United Federation of Planets, and noble-ambassadors and Gorn vacationers are now a regular sight on Risa. Gorn big game hunters, meanwhile, clamor for the Federation to allow them access to Second and Third Risa.

The Gorn have a hostile relation with the Ittick-Ka, who brush up near Gorn planned expansion zones and sit on a large portion of former Gorn territory. The upstart species also triggers old memories of the Orions and Klingons, who were dismissed as a threat until they were successfully killing Gorn ships. A war between the two powers is expected in the coming decade.

Society and Culture
Current Gorn political thought believes that planets that once belonged to the Gorn empire are still theirs by right, and that non-reptilian species are inferior and should be purged. While they might invite you to a gentlemanly dinner right before war is declared, the next day they will rip your throat out if you happen to get to close to their deadly claws, teeth, or fists.

In the last 1000 years, the Gorn have gone from a xeno-friendly constitutional monarchy to a xenophobic absolutist autocracy. Successive Kings have censored all documents that show non-Gorn heroes and nobility in the distant past, striving to drag the Gorn forward through species-based national pride. The current Gorn administration holds that the worlds of the Old Empire are still theirs, and that one day they will evict or enslave the squatters who currently live there. They also wish to conquer the old worlds of the Orion Empire and vanquish their foe, but are more focused on regaining holdings they’ve lost over the past 1000 years. This is actually a relatively recent strain of political thought, having emerged in the last six hundred years with the last three Gorn Kings as they struggled to unify their people behind a common purpose and justify their hold on power. There is a strong undercurrent in Gorn political thought that instead advocates securing the current borders and attempting to focus on development rather than expansion.

The vast majority of the population are commoners that live in poverty that would be shocking to most of the galaxy, living in vast city-slums or on rundown estates in the countryside. Many of them are serfs owned by one noble or another, and are impoverished and stunted, forced to work long hours and unable to move residence from their assigned farm or living establishment. If they live in the city, they are often restricted to specific districts. A class of free Gorn based in the cities also exists, although few are able to escape the crushing poverty of the slums. Education is limited, mostly to provide basic literacy, and trade-oriented skills such as coding and machine operation to help participate in the manufacturing economy. The current government has not drastically expanded education to the poor out of a continued ideology that the strong will rise to the top regardless of circumstance. Commoners are also constantly prepared to be called for for military service, as this underclass provides vast manpower to the Gorn fleets and armies through quota-based conscription. Gorn can be selected for conscription upon turning 25. Those who are selected for the 75-year long service period are mourned as if they are dead by family and friends before leaving, as there is little chance they will survive to see the benefits of nobility. Even these benefits are dubious, as Gorn often return with little money to back up their newfound status.

A class of merchants, skilled craftsmen, industrialists and middle-managers make up a narrow strata of Gorn society. Often consisting of freed Gorn and minor nobility, they make up a wealthy class, with some minor houses having more resources than much more established families and certain merchants having wealth that rivals the King. A particularly lucrative area of commerce is in providing high fashion to rich nobility as they play endless games of one-upmanship in attire. In an attempt to head off potential agitation from this commoner-merchant class, the Gorn government has recently allowed them to purchase stays of military service and hereditary nobility. From the Gorn perspective, the benefit of this is providing fresh, rich blood to the noble classes, a sort of Darwinist competition that softly pushes weaker houses out of the Court, or a method to allow noble families to marry into wealth, with Many impoverished nobles go to great lengths to marry rich commoners. This has lead to some marriages straining, particularly between rich commoner women and poor noble men, the former suddenly finding their degree of relative autonomy in Gorn society stripped.

The nobility are the landowners and leaders of the Gorn, military or civil. There are several ‘ancient’ noble families, who date back to proud houses from the earliest days of the Gorn unified state and its first colonies. Then come the old blood nobility, who have been part of the Gorn court for at least 1500 years. These collectively make up the Old Families. Then comes the Middle-Aged, families who have gained their nobility via military service or otherwise at least two generations ago. Then comes the New Blood, made up of merchants who have purchased their nobility, and military officers who have earned hereditary nobility in the last 300 years. Finally there is the small nobility, a constellation of individuals who have gained personal nobility and the right to own land and serfs, but who have not earned the right to pass on their nobility. The traditional, ancient powers of the Old Families are continually challenged, and particularly galling is the fact many of them have mortgaged land to New Blood and subsequently seen productive, profitable businesses raised up there. But most important in the Gorn court is the favor of the King -- a New Blood noble who becomes a King’s confidant is more powerful than any Old Family member who isn’t.

Gorn put women in a high place of pride and respect, as part of their worship of the highest in the Gorn pantheon, S'Yahazah, the Egg-Bringer. Despite their high cultural position, women are rarely in military positions, nor do they tend to form part of the senior leadership in the government bureaucracy. There has never been a female King. Present Gorn society holds that women are simply too valuable to use in wartime; heroines like Vrr’sshara, victor of the battle of Peladian Fields have been quietly removed from the public consciousness over the last 600 years. In a reverse of noble culture, many women among the commoners become de facto community leaders such as village elders or tenement supervisors, and are often the ones consulted by military recruiters as to who from their community is to be drafted. “A Kiss from a Disruptor” is a Gorn saying for a male who has courted such a community leader and then subsequently been selected for military service; it is seen as the ultimate rejection of their affection.

Religion
Gorn legend holds that it is S'Yahazah, the Great Mother, who protected the first clutch of Gorn eggs from the Nameless Form, a devouring entity that was banished to the depths of space for all eternity. A species that saw high mortality rates until very recently in their history, the Gorn place a high value on fertility and the women who lay eggs. Historically, women have been viewed as protectors and warriors of the Gorn, and in the past women beyond their prime fertility traditionally led the Gorn in battle -- such traditions fell by the wayside in the millenia post-spaceflight. This ‘high’ cultural position actually serves as a trap and a means to keep women from gaining political power, as Gorn believe they must be protected and kept free from the taint of the outside world, which means they can’t participate in it.

Gorn hold that praying for rain, or a promotion, or for health are all worshipping some aspect of S'Yahazah, as a mother provides all. Thus, where other cultures might have specific saints or deities for war, wisdom, or craftsmanship, Gorn simply worship S'Yahazah, temples and shrines dedicated to contemplation of specific elements of her generosity and spirit. Despite this, each village and city will have stories about various spirits and entities that make their home there, such as Torotonna in the Sahyahi forest. There is longstanding debate if these are just manifestations of S'Yahazah’s vast powers or separate, lesser entities in their own right.

The dominant religious institution is the Holy Assembly of S'Yahazah, one of the few places women can rule in Gorn society. The Priestesshood and senior leadership is only made up of women, although some men hold high-level administrative positions. They conduct daily rituals, lead important public ceremonies, and have a variety of duties at public and government functions, offering legitimacy from S'Yahazah to the event and blessings to all. Holy Assembly temples consist of large ziggurats, ceremonies performed on the pinnacle or inside its hollow core. Smaller shrines are typically small, dome-roofed spaces with a speaking and ceremonial platform out front. Shrines and temples are places of refuge and peace, and it is only the most bold of criminals or nobles that dare even lay a hand on a Priestess.

The Holy Assembly has thousands of years of genetic records on various Gorn noble families, and are the final arbiters of any succession dispute. They also decide on when certain individuals may enter the top three ranks, and the definitions and titles of the nobility. It is through the Holy Assembly that the Prince of Gihdahr is allowed a title usually reserved for those in the Royal Family, as it is by their ancient decree that the ruler of Gihdahr is considered part of the royal succession. It is the Holy Assembly that will determine when a ruler can legally take on the title of Rzar.

Economy and Major Facilities
The economy of the Hegemony is notoriously inefficient, with most resources going to the idle whims of the nobility, and many great weapons factories and ship production lines being turned over to the production of expensive trinkets. Megaprojects and powerful starbases that were once the hallmark of the Gorn Empire have proven impossible to build while the King and nobility demand more gilding for their vast estates and palaces. The current King has therefore made it a priority to build more auxiliary shipping, and wrest valuable ships from the hands of the nobility who use passenger liners as their own private yachts, and engineering ships to dig vast asteroid playgrounds. Empowering the merchant and productive classes to more efficiently distribute resources and orient heavy industry to government projects is also a major, though slow-moving, initiative. Old families cling to the foundries established in their territories, even if they cannot find the labour to run it effectively, if at all. Gorn industry is messy, and often cruel to those unfortunate enough to work directly in manufacturing. Factories built during the Imperial era are state-owned, clean, highly automated and thus, productive. The commoner-engineer who can learn the ancient code that runs the machines is well-poised to earn coin and their noble title, and nobles who bother to ‘dirty’ themselves in this work are similarly poised to earn riches. Other factories are less automated, relying on the cheap surplus labour from the slums, and often with little regard for safety. The Gorn ability to regrow limbs and survive massive trauma partially disincentives the Gorn from being too worried about killing their workers or investing in medical technology. Owners of factories that have more automated systems scour the slums for particularly bright peasants and serfs, and buy them up for managerial and technical training in a sort of industrial mirror of military conscription. With a major demand for technicians in the Royal Fleet, there have been reports of fighting between military and industrial ‘recruiters’ over promising candidates.

This economic structure is reflected in the cities of the Hegemony. The nobility live in clean, bright, and safe neighbourhoods, which are often walled off and located away from the rest of the mainland on artificial islands. Pressed against the walls of the rich, or immediately on the coastline nearest to their private islands you will find ‘middle-class’ housing, where the rich merchants live, occasionally rubbing shoulders with impoverished minor nobility. Then comes the slums, progressively becoming less developed as they radiate outward. Roads go from paved to gravel to dirt in quick succession, sewage runs freely in the streets, and houses become less and less deserving of the name. In the countryside, nobles cling desperately to their farm-estates and dwindling finances alike, in large but ramshackle houses. Serfs in the countryside live under better conditions than those trapped in the slums, and thus being bought by a countryside family is seen as moving up in the working classes.

The one thing the Gorn government has maintained a strict stranglehold on is the extraction, refinement, and distribution of starship-grade construction materials and special industrial resources. Their advanced automated factories are still impressive and do incredible work for the Hegemony, even as the rest of the economy suffers and economic output goes uncaptured. The King's Own Arsenal on Ghidar, a sprawling industrial complex, is impeccably maintained and helps ensure the orderly and efficient construction of ships across the Hegemony. A major goal of the Gorn is to return several Heavy Industrial Parks to functionality. Unfortunately, these large facilities have often suffered divided ownership among members of noble families, who have turned them to producing civilian commodities instead.

Major Facilties
The largest shipyard in Gorn space is located over Ghidar, with large 'royal' four-megaton berths. Gornar itself is also a major shipbuilding center, maintaining another pair of 'royal' berths and a civilian yard. Shipbuilding is known to take place at Bygoth and Seudath, but these facilities have been closed to visiting Federation officials, and their capabilities remain unknown.