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Kusari Republic
| House Kusari | |||||
| チェーン帝国 | |||||
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| Capital | Planet New Tokyo, New Tokyo System | ||||
| Official languages | Japanese, English | ||||
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| Founded | 5 A.S. | ||||
| Controlled space | |||||
| Affiliated organisations | |||||
Kusari or the Kusari Empire (チェーン帝国 Kusari Enpaia) is the title of one of the four original houses in Sirius. The Kusari is a small yet expansive house, with significant forces holding the four core systems (New Tokyo, Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu) and claims and patrols to many other lesser systems surrounding them. Kusari influence stretches from the distant Tau-31 system to Sigma-19, effectively occupying the entirety of the known lower northern Sirius sector. Kusari is currently engaged in a war with Bretonia over the sovereignty of the Tau-31 system.
History
Main article: History of Kusari
Controlled and contested space
Kusari lays claim to as many as ten star systems (New Tokyo, Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, Hokkaido, Tohoku, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Tau-29 and Tau-31). Out of these, four hold colonised planets: New Tokyo, Kyushu, Honshu and Shikoku.
Despite the relative proximity to the Sigma systems, Kusari military do not operate in the area, giving leeway to the fiercely independent Gas Miners Guild, on which the supplies of H-Fuel to Kusari rely.
Territorial claims
The Tau-23 and Tau-31 systems are considered as under the protection of Kusari since 812 A.S. This resulted in a state of war with the Kingdom of Bretonia. Currently the Kusari Naval Forces are in near total control of both Tau systems, with planet Harris being the last Bretonian controlled base left.
Government and politics
Kusari is a constitutional monarchy led by an Emperor as the official monarch and head of state. The Naval Forces are under the command of a Shogun who, although officially subordinate to the Emperor, wields both political and military power as his representative. The Naval Forces have formal control over unpopulated systems, aside from the bases present in those systems. Kusari also has a house of representatives from all the populated planets with official control over the government and it's ministries, although these representatives are mostly subordinate to the Shogun and Emperor.
Internal affairs
To outsiders Kusari might look like a single, unified empire, standing together in all matters. But in the house itself the reality is quite different.
Much of the house is divided between the influence of the two great keiretsu (corporations): Samura Industries and Kishiro Technologies. These two companies compete with each other fiercely, often to the point of an indirect war. While Kishiro prefers economic warfare, Samura (being the bigger of the two) utilises it's influence among the local thugs to physically impede it's rivals' growth by sending attack parties against it's shipping. Kishiro on the other hand struck a deal with the Gas Miners Guild (disgruntled over Samura's ever growing prices) for exclusive distribution of H-Fuel, as well as taking several contracts with the Kusari Naval Forces. Kusari is also in the grasp of the Hogosha, who control much of it's middle structure by bribery. The Empire is known to openly endorse political organisations who resort to terrorism against foreign shipping, when the state police is not paying attention. Fighting against the Emperor and it's cronies are the Blood Dragons and Golden Chrysanthemums - dedicated to different goals, yet united in their goal of overthrowing the state and removing Samura's influence from the government.
All this is usually carefully hidden by the Kusari government itself, which regards foreigners meddling in Kusari internal affairs as it's worst enemy.
Economy
Foreign relations
Crime and dissent
Kusari has a fair number of criminal and reactionary organisations, all formed into two camps: pro-government and anti-government.
Pro-government (quasi-lawful)
These groups are characterised by their non-hostile status with the local police forces, as well as their relationship with Samura Industries, essentially working as the corporations' handymen. This camp also has relations with the Corsairs, and is frequently engaged in widespread artifact smuggling. Two factions are recognised as part of this camp:
- Hogosha is a large criminal organisation engaged in a number of criminal activities (these including anything from protection rackets to artifact smuggling), with it's influence spread all across Kusari. Similar to old Earth Yakuza, the Hogosha have have gained an understanding with the local police force primarily using bribery and extortion. Several notable political figures are known to cooperate with the Hogosha, thus making the organisation an inevitable and unmovable part of the house, as long as the current government remained in power.
- The Farmers Alliance is a political group with the goal of removing foreign food shipping from Kusari. Working closely with the Hogosha, the Alliance is frequently deliberately ignored by the state police, regardless of their criminal actions against foreign traders.
Anti-government (unlawful)
The anti-government camp is composed of two groups openly hostile to both the state police and naval forces, as well as to the two keiretsu and their cronies. Despite this dislike, the involved factions are more likely to spare Kishiro shipping than they are to not attack Samura. They also have a secret understanding with the Gas Miners Guild. This camp links two factions:
- The Blood Dragons are a radical terrorist organisation dedicated to overthrow the Emperor and his co-conspirators to install a direct descendant of the Shogun Hideyoshi, and resume the Hideyoshi Shogunate formerly overthrown in the Sakura coup of 321 A.S. As a result, they are locked in a guerilla conflict against the Kusari navy (who are dedicated to the protection of the Emperor) as well Samura and their Hogosha cronies.
- The Golden Chrysanthemums are a female movement for the institution of a matriarchy, and subsequent liberalisation of Kusari. The group is characterised by it's heavy usage of Cardamine, as well as it's sympathy to the Bretonian war effort in the Tau systems.
