History of Sivad

After the departure of Sanctuary from normal space in 2651, Sivad fell to the Kreontian threat, as did all of the other known worlds. The regime on Sivad was as harsh as it was on any world, though few records remain of what actually happened during the regime as few records were ever made. Very few structures remain from that era, or even from before the Kretonian invasion. One notable exception is Independence Dome – the Kretonian regime decided not to destroy the dome as it would only serve to inflame the anger of the Sivadian people needlessly.

When the Nall drove the Kretonians off Sivad, the people were disorganised and anarchy prevailed. Much of the Sivadians’ technology had been lost and the structures of society were in tatters. The population of the world had also dropped significantly during the occupation, such that only several million people remained and only on a small group of islands. Many leaders rose and fell during the twenty years following the liberation of Sivad in 2806, but one government eventually managed to unite the world under one monarchical flag.

King Franklin the First was the first monarch of Sivad following the Kretonian liberation, and he reigned from 2810 to 2845. King Franklin imposed heavy taxation on the people of Sivad and used the funds both on himself and on research projects to try to recover the technology of the past.

When Sivadians managed to build their own space ships again and travelled to Morrigan, Sivad’s moon, in 2833, they discovered abundant quantities of polydenum, a fuel necessary not only for ships but also for the emerging teleportal technology. By selling this polydenum, Sivad eventually became a very rich planet and its influence spread, overseen by each successive monarch. Biotechnological research blossomed and Sivad began to produce Specialists again. They also opened their doors to aliens, allowing them to do commerce if they wanted on Sivadian soil.

In 2860, Parliament was restored on Sivad with one house made up of elected representatives. Another governmental organisation, the Council of Equals, developed around 2852 as advisors to the Crown, appointed by the Crown. Gradually, the Council of Equals began to gain more practical power than the Crown and the monarch became more a figurehead than a government leader.

In 2902, the Council of Equals became an elected body. Parliament was dissolved and many of its powers were devolved to regional governments, which became more and more necessary as the population of Sivad grew again and the central planetary government was unable to govern the entire planet. The monarchy continued until 2978, when Queen Paulette the Second abdicated the thrown after a planetary referendum, leaving executive power with the First Councillor. The necessity for a monarch had faded.

The peaceful revitalisation of Sivad was spurred by the commerce that the world generated. After the liberation of the galaxy from the Kretonians and the discovery of polydenum, Sivadians rapidly established themselves as the galaxy’s bankers. Very low taxes (as a result of polydenum sales) allowed off-worlders to keep their money safe on Sivad, and Sivad benefitted a great deal from the influx of funds.

In 2837, only a few years after Sivadians regained the ability to build their own spacecraft, King Franklin established the Royal Naval Service, the predecessor to the modern Homeland Naval Service. The initial ships of the Royal Navy were not very impressive and would have been useless in a fight. The Royal Navy’s initial mission was to help maintain domestic control in Sivadian space and to explore beyond the Sivadian system.

These early beginnings began to develop the Navy’s doctrine of many small, fast ships. To this day, the Homeland Naval Service has no carriers and very few ships of a destroyer class or larger. Most of the HNS’ ships are small, powerful scouts with fairly small crews of Sivadian officers and Sivadian spacemen. The Sivadian Royal Navy became the Homeland Naval Service in 2978 with the abdication of the Crown.