Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi

Strephon
Forty-Third Emperor of the Third Imperium
In office 1071 to 1115
Preceded by	Paulo III
Succeeded by	Disputed
Born	Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi 1049
Died	1115 (disputed)
Race	Solomani-Vilani Mix
Spouse	Iolanthe Guuilbataashullibaa Alkhalikoi
Children	Ciencia - Avery

Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi holds the ultimate title, the highest office of the land; he is the Emperor of the Third Imperium.

• As such, he holds numerous titles, fiefdoms, and more.
• Also head of House Alkhalikoi and the Alkhalikoi Dynasty.

Description (Character)

Oldest surviving issue of Paulo III. Born on 202-1049, proclaimed Emperor by the Moot in 1071.

• Married Iolanthe Guuilbataashullibaa in 1079.

Formal Address: His Imperial Majesty Strephona Aella Alkhalikoi, Archduke & Baron of Sylea, Marquis of Usdiki, Prime Lord of the Armed Forces, President of the Moot, Appellate Extraordinary, Defender of the Marches, 43^rd Emperor of the Core, the Gateway, the Marches, Vland, Ilelish, Antares, and the Rim, K.G.C.I.H., K.S.C., K.G.C.I.T., G.C.E.G., G.C.T.I., K.C.A.S., K.B., K.G., K.R.A., K.I., K.S..

History & Background (Biography)

Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi was born on 202-1049, the first child of Emperor Paulo III and Elbet Osmanlia Aella, daughter of a Count in the Gushemege Sector. Following the sudden death of his mother under mysterious circumstances at the Imperial Palace, wrapped in his grief Emperor Paulo III paid little attention to his children, with Grand Prince Strephon and his younger sister Princess Lydia being 'parented' by tutors and palace footmen and leading to both growing up quiet and sullen, more prone to calculate advantage than seek affection.

Strephon enrolled into the Imperial Naval Academy (Core Branch) a few days after his 18th birthday with the intention of earning a commission as a line naval officer. He earned high marks in most courses, performing especially well in history and military law, and passing grades during his shipboard cruises. In late 1070 while serving aboard the battleship Tomutov I Midshipman Strephon Alkhalikoi received word that his father was ill and not expected to live. The battleship immediately set course to Capital, arriving three days after Paulo III's death. As part of his succession to the Iridium Throne, Strephon was directly promoted from midshipman to Grand Admiral of the Imperial Fleet, the most drastic promotion in the Imperial Navy's history.

Upon his ascension to the throne, Strephon was the youngest Emperor in over 300 years, arousing concern among many due to the consensus that the Iridium Throne was intended for experienced, seasoned rulers and the Imperium too large and complex for a young person to handle wisely. In part as response to this belief and with the goal of projecting the image of a steady hand at the head of the state Strephon ruled with a light hand for a long time, making few significant changes to policy and relying on the Imperial Archdukes a great deal, granting them increasing authority to act as his viceroys in their domains.

During this period Strephon, hoping to use its prestige to further suggest calm and stability to the Imperium as a whole, made a marriage alliance with an ancient Vilani noble family by asking the hand of Lady Iolanthe Guuilbataashullibaa following a brief courtship and consultation with his sister Lydia. After thinking on the offer for several days, she married Emperor Strephon in 1079, eight years after his coronation.

The first great challenge of Strephon's reign was the Fourth Frontier War (1082 to 1084). Over in a mere 16 months and conducted entirely within the Spinward Marches Sector, Strephon took little part in its actual management, but through the application of adroit public relations was able to leverage the Imperium' modest territorial gains to portray himself as a capable and victorious war-time leader. The war also marked the beginning of a long friendship between Strephon and Duke Norris of Regina.

Strephon truly began to take control of the Imperium in the aftermath of the Fourth Frontier War. The war exposed the vulnerability of the Domain of Deneb and the Emperor recognised that the Imperium must be better prepared for inevitable future Frontier Wars, waking Strephon up to the reality that it was becoming too broad and unwieldy, Its disparate sectors are too far apart for communication to be practical. In defiance of the Imperial Moot, Strephon re-established the domains and appointed archdukes to most of them to enhance the Imperium’s abilities to respond to crises such as those seen in the Domain of Deneb, whose borders with the Zhodani, Vargr and the upstart Sword Worlds had been a historical source of trouble.

At the time of the appointment of new Archdukes, the Chancellor of the Moot, a strong believer in the efficacy of psychohistory, advised Strephon to take heed of Ilelish, where one revolt was put down centuries earlier and which could very well be the source of renewed unrest. In an attempt to pre-emptively address such problems in 1104 the Emperor appointed one of his closest friends, Dulinor Astrin Ilethian, as Archduke of the Domain of Ilelish in an effort to forestall any problems from the highly developed and industrialised province.

By 1105, as the Emperor has gotten older he has found that the crown weighs upon him more heavily, the Imperium having become a difficult to manage and very complex affair. When able the Emperor likes to get away to the northern seas of Capital, the reserve world of Crompton or even the stark desolation of Onon, depending on his mood. Emperor Strephon travels Core and its neighbouring sectors frequently, mostly on official business, and also became involved in several highly secretive enterprises involved with the security of Capital and the Imperium at large.

In the early 1100s, Strephon launched a series of reforms, giving Archdukes additional governing powers and taxation authority. The restoration of governing and taxation powers were designed to reconnect the Iridium Throne to the lives of Imperial citizens, shifting from its then-current position as a distant and abstract authority.

The Strephonian Reforms (begun in 1113) were also meant to shake the government from the grip of complacency and stagnation. To lead the reforms, he appointed Dulinor Archduke of the Domain of Ilelish. Both the reforms and the selection of Dulinor Astrin Ilethian were accomplished over significant opposition within the Moot.

There are rumors that Strephon is contemplating activating the Domain of Deneb and elevating Duke Norris of Regina to Archduke of Deneb in recognition of the signal services he did the Imperium during the Fifth Frontier War.

Rebellion Period

MegaTraveller: Rebellion - (Click Show to reveal)

Strephon's double was assassinated on 132-1116 by Archduke Dulinor, who then claimed the throne by the old, forgotten custom of Right of Assassination. Dulinor eventually fled to his stronghold in Ilelish, to prepare for war. Strephon himself was on a science mission to supervise progress of project Longbow scanning the Empress Wave. When Strephon was informed of Dulinor's treason - and the death of his wife Iolanthe and his daughter and heir Grand Princess Ciencia - he choose to retreat to Usdiki, instead of moving to challenge Lucan's ascension to the Iridium Throne on Capital.

He publicly declared himself as the authentic Emperor in 1117, but only subsectors close to Usdiki rallied around him: other factions ignored his call or disputed his credentials. Many claimed that he was in fact a pseudo-biological robot.

See Successors to Strephon and the Real Strephon.

New Era Period

The New Era - (Click Show to reveal)

In 1114, Strephon had, indeed, decided to elevate Norris to Archduke of Deneb. Although he died before any public announcement was made, the patent was already en route to Norris, who received it in time to assume control of what would later become the Regency.

References

This article has metadata.

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. The Kinunir (Game Designers Workshop, 1979), 41.
• John Harshman, Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman. Library Data (N-Z) (Game Designers Workshop, 1982), 37.
• Marc Miller. Imperial Encyclopedia (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), 10-11, 40, 51.
• Marc Miller. Rebellion Sourcebook (Game Designers Workshop, 1988), .
• Charles E. Gannon. Hard Times (Game Designers Workshop, 1991), .
• Greg Videll. Arrival Vengeance (Game Designers Workshop, 1992), .
• Dave Nilsen. Survival Margin (Game Designers Workshop, 1993), .
• Loren Wiseman. Nobles (Steve Jackson Games, 2004), 88-90.
• Christopher Griffen. The Third Imperium (Mongoose Publishing, 2021), 51.