Sha Elden Lith Kindriu
The Sha Elden Lith Kindriu (SELK) ("The interstellar Families of Peoples") is the interstellar government of the Lithkind, a federation of 22 planetary governments located in Gzirr!k'l Sector and Numbis Sector. Each planet has a paired set of male and female bureaucratic ministries.
Allegiance Codes[edit]
| Polity | Survey | Code | Type | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sha Elden Lith Kindriu | 2nd Survey (1065) | SELK | 4-ltr code | None |
Description[edit]
SELK’s capital is the Lithkind homeworld Izyme (Gzirr!k'l 0231). The SELK’s bureaucracy co-ordinates communication between the planetary ministries, and handles foreign relations, interstellar development, colonial administration, and the Lithkind's two military arms. Officials most likely to interact with aliens are bureaucrats from SELK Adriu i-Shaka (SELKIS), the office of foreign affairs, either from the SELKIS-K (female office) or SELKIS-R (male office).
The head of the SELK government is the Council of Noon. It is an oligarchy, but a very unusual one, for it operates in utmost secrecy. It meets periodically, but the location may vary among hundreds of government facilities across Lithkind space.
The council has 16 times 16 members, half male and half female. Each serves for a term of 16 Lithkind years (about 10 Imperial years). Councilors are known as Agents of Destiny. The routine business of Lithkind government is left to bureaucrats and local Elds (same-sex clans). The Council of Noon deals with foreign powers, important new technology, and major crises. They manipulate social and economic trends to maintain a healthy, functioning society.
Languages[edit]
Symbols[edit]
- Entwined Double Iz Tree: A symbol of life and rebirth, and continuation across generations.
- Spiral Within Circle: A symbol of warding.
History and background[edit]
The Lithkind date their first alien contact to -2120. At this point in their history, SELK – the Lithkind interstellar government – had only recently been formed, and the Lithkind were expanding through the rimward reaches of Gzirr!k'l Sector using reactionless-drive sublight vessels. Their furthest outpost was in the Yezial system, 6 parsecs to coreward and spinward of their homeworld Izyme.
In -2102 Izyme lost radio contact with Yezial. In -2080 a follow-up expedition arrived, discovering a wrecked colony scarred by beam-weapon fire. They also found a derelict scout ship of strange design that had crash-landed on the planet. It contained the bodies of large six-limbed aliens.
In -2027 a K'kree cruiser squadron – the vanguard of a larger fleet – jumped into Lithkind space. Conflict between SELK and the Two Thousand Worlds raged across Gzirr!k'l Sector from -2026 to -2012. Six Lithkind colony worlds were devastated by orbital bombardment and ground fighting, and on two occasions K'kree strike cruisers penetrated into the Izyme system, bombarding the Lithkind homeworld and causing millions of deaths
In -2019 came the Mutual Defense Treaty of Guaran, where the Hive Federation offered SELK technological and material aid against their common foe. With Hiver assistance (particularly jump drives) the Lithkind were able to hold off K’kree forces committed to Gzirr!k’l, and prevent these reinforcing the main offensive against the Hivers.
In -2013, the Hiver-K'kree War ended in victory for the Hive Federation. From the K'kree point of view, they were happily cantering over the void and then they met some little disgusting STL things and lots of disgusting FTL things. They made the FTL forces a priority, lost the war, and now have both to contend with. The price the Lithkind paid for armistice was 15 million dead and a withdrawal from several border worlds (most of which had been sterilized anyway).
Military and intelligence[edit]
The Legion of Midnight is the ground, aviation, and space-transport forces: 250,000 soldiers, organized into 16 division-sized battlegroups plus supporting and special units. Thirteen battlegroups are “planetary defense” (army) units with aviation and artillery (including deep meson gun) contingents. Four are elite “expeditionary” (marine) units capable of space to ground assault.
The Legion of Starlight is the Lithkind naval forces, consisting of 12 battle squadrons, 20 cruiser squadrons, four assault squadrons, and several SDB wings. Assault squadrons have fewer combat ships, but possess assault carriers capable of lifting an entire Legion of Midnight expeditionary battlegroup.
Worlds & Sectors (Astrography)[edit]
This government can be primarily found in the following areas:
Charted Space:
Capital[edit]
The capital of this polity is:
World Listing: 1105[edit]
The following systems and worlds are a part of this polity:
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References and contributors[edit]
- Dave Nilsen, David L. Pulver, Andy Slack, David Thomas. Alien Races 3 (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), 132-142.