Kotimaan Pakolaiset

## Kotimaan Pakolaiset (Exiles of Kotimaa)

*Fun Fact: The Keiran Exiles is an exonym used to describe the numerous factions of descendants from the exiled peoples of Kotimaailma, Ross 128.*

The **Exiles of Kotimaa** are the largest faction of descendants from the Kotimaailman Hegira. A traditional aspect of Kotimaailman culture that has carried over to Exile (or Kotimaan) culture is communal living and sharing of resources. Over the generations, the different exile groups gained genetic diversity and differences, the Kotimaan adapted a strong resistance to cold temperatures and radiation due to their time spent on generation ships and later on their new adopted homeworld.

Prior to exile, an emphasis on tolerance, acceptance, and community was a large part of the culture on Kotimaailma, but as the exiles spread throughout the stars, different cultural, societal, and physical stressors forced new adaptations and changes to ingrained traditions. Over time these differences would lead to the creation of numerous distinct cultural groups with six major cultural identities gaining dominance over the former unified culture of Kotimaailma. A key element of this can be seen in the evolution of the name of the origin planet of the Exiles.

### Disputes on the Status of "Successor State"

Like all titles, the role of being the primary successor to the Kotimaailman Republic is contested among other successor states. The Exiles while officially recognized as the true successor and rightful claim to Kotimaailma, have come under fire from other states that claim the title. Mainly the Kotyan Autocracy and Communes of Hiraan, and interestingly a revived Kotimaailma under the control of the Sirius Federation. As the Kotimaailman Republic returns to the international community (in the form of an autonomous territory part of the Sirius Federation), it has challenged all Kotimaailman successor states' claims to their world arguing that since the planet is not uninhabitable nor lacking a large population, it should belong to those who are the descendants of the survivors who could not leave. Only time will reveal who wins the battle over Kotimaailma.

## **The History of the Exiles**

### Origin

Prior to the rediscovery of ruined "Rumfarende fartøj" (or generation ships), the many successor states and ethnic groups had forgotten their origin: Kotimaailma. While the homeworld had a great significance in each culture, none remembered the reason for its importance. In the early 2190s, a comet had been detected to be on a collision course for Kotimaailma, following numerous efforts to prevent disaster, an enormous evacuation plan was created and implemented in the limited time remaining. On March 6th, 2194 the Republikken Kotimaailma ceased to exist as the comet impacted near the coasts of "Sydkontinent" or "the Southern Continent". So began "Spredningen" or "the Scattering" (later dubbed "the Kotimaailman Hegira" by historians).

### Spredningen

What had begun as an organized effort to evacuate quickly devolved into a rapid race for survival as the planet of Kotimaailma was immolated with flames. Millions died while thousands fled out into space with no direction, many ending up on nearby worlds or being forced to return to the ruins of Kotimaailma. A small fleet of about thirty Rumfarende fartøj managed to fully escape the region and spread out across explored (and unexplored) space. Today the descendants of that group make up the six major successor-states to the planet of Kotimaailma. By far the largest and internationally recognized claimant is the Exiles of Kotimaa or Kotimaan Pakolaiset.

### The Founding of the Exiles

After wandering across many lightyears and seeing many Rumfarende fartøj abandoning them, a few remaining Rumfarende fartøj found themselves in an uncharted system with two planets, with a habitable but cold planet located further from the star. Their remaining fleet consisted of a contingent of Norwegian, Finnish, Morrocan, and Tunisian majority alongside a sizeable Bosnian, Hungarian, and Irish minority and a little over a thousand Turks, Bulgars, and Serbs. Following the comet strike, the native languages of the various ethnic groups took over, resulting in a dominant Arabic and Nordic culture with Balkan and Celtic undertones. Following a year of surveying landing sites, studying the habitability of the planet, and preparing for planetfall, the Exiles would make landfall. On June 10th, 2254 in the newly constructed Kansan Sali (People's Hall) of Auringonlasku Laakso, an oath was made that one day the Exiles would return home and reclaim their birthright: Kotimaa; thus were the Exiles of Kotimaa formed.

### Expansion

Two decades after planetfall, the new colonists had grown restless religious and ethnic tensions had grown since colonization. In an attempt to ease the fears of the settlers and avoid collapse (a common fate of isolated colonies), the Vanha-Majlis elected to send a series of probes to neighboring systems to scout out their region. Years after their departure the data from the probes finally arrived. While most of the systems scouted contained little POIs, three were promising: a system filled with interstellar dust and particulates yet also a beautiful temperate Earth-like planet, another system with a craggy, geologically active but habitable world (among others), and a third world with a supercontinent breaking apart. Of the three systems, it was determined that Støv was the prime candidate for colonization. Of two Rumfarende fartøj left in orbit, one departed towards Støv, eventually arriving by 2281. Primarily colonized by the Tunisians and Moroccans, it would become the most important and populated system within the exiles of Kotimaa. Later the system of "Castanon" would be ceded to the CRC in exchange for monetary and defensive compensation. By 2327, the systems of Buadhach, Mara, Hafa, Himmeä, Belirsiz, Stille, Castilla (ceded to CRC), Nabihah (ceded to CRC), and Kraj were all claimed and secured by either CRC or the Exiles of Kotimaa.

### Prokŭlnat: the Cursed City

In the mid-24th century, ethnic and religious tensions would reach a new level, following a protest that turned ugly due to a brutal crackdown by Gammeldag officials. Centuries of animosity and hatred over religious and ethnic lines boiled to a breaking point; at 6:55 AM (local time) Saturday, October 15th, 2342, a small WMD was detonated within the city center of Prokŭlnat. The aftermath saw the deaths of 1.8 million of the city's 2.3 million residents, billions in property damage, and the beginning of a devastating civil war spreading across the surface of Keir, the incident would brand Prokŭlnat as "the Cursed City", it has remained abandoned since that incident. Years after the Prokŭlnat incident, an Irish minority group would establish a breakaway state within Kotimaan Pakolaiset after their demands for greater representation were not met.

### Seeds of Division

The Vanha-Majlis would convene for an emergency session following the incidents at Prokŭlnat. While the details of this meeting remain classified, the resulting vote ended in a reform movement. This reform movement would culminate in the creation of the Forásach party (Progressive Party), yet despite its popularity, the Gammeldag party maintained a majority within the Vanha-Majlis. Those responsible were part of a radical extremist group attempting to ignite an insurgency against the increasingly corrupt and authoritarian Gammeldag.

Yet, while the group's plan was foiled they had revealed serious societal issues including institutionalized discrimination, racism, and massive wealth inequality. As decades passed, the Gammeldag party would secure its political influence permanently by abolishing all other political parties and assuming total control and the Kotimaan spheres of influence (SOIs). By the mid 25th century, the majority of the Kotimaan population had become disappointed and ambivalent to their government with the Vanha-Majlis still dominated by the Gammeldag party, now ruled by an extremist conservative faction. On July 13th, 2456 thousands of disenfranchised people convened at the Svestran Freehold to began drafting plans for an overthrow of the corrupt Gammeldag faction and the liberation of Keir.

A month later, the Kotimaan Liberation Front (KLF) declared war on the Kotimaan government. The KLF began the war by attacking the Belirsiz Outpost within the eponymous system of the same name. Otvori Party members caught in crossfire elected to join the KLF alongside the majority of the outpost's defenders. The Battle of Belirsiz (later called the Belirsiz Skirmish) was over, only three days after it had started. The victorious rebels seized a Slava-Klasse cruiser, four Svestran-Klasse destroyers, seven Kalici-Klasse frigates, and nine Piilotettu-Klasse corvettes, despite their success the lunar fortress remained semi-operational though controlled by the KLF. With their fleet reinforced the KLF launched an offensive to take Ire and the Keiran Orbital AO. Operation Zimski Kraj commenced with the siege of numerous orbital stations within the Keiran AO, simultaneously the holdout on Zimski was besieged by KLF forces assisted by defectors from the Kotimaans Forsvarsstyrke. By March of the following year, the civil war was over, the holdout on Zimski having mutinied due to food shortages quickly surrendering the Gammeldag remnants.

### Frentrednede Krasen i 2457

While the Kotimaan were settling disputes through their civil war, the rest of the Solar Neighborhood was falling into the greatest economic crisis since the 1st Diaspora from Earth. Called "Frentrednede Krasen i 2457" within the Exiles' territory it was commonly called the Crisis of '457; it was an economic depression that lasted from August 22nd, 2456 to February 8th, 2467. The effects of the depression were minimal within the Kotimaan Exiles as the nation began a post-liberation economic boom following the Liberation of Keir.

The Kotimaan post-liberation boom was the result of three factors: a quick and relatively bloodless conflict, an immigration pull due to newfound political stability, and the vast untapped resources of several habitable planets. The greatest achievement of this brief period was the passing of the Equal Treatment Initiative (2459), created to provide equal opportunities to all groups of people ignoring their ethnicity, religious beliefs, and gender while difficult to enforce in its early years, its effect was significant to the point of reducing violence between different religious and ethnic groups. Alongside government programs designed to aid the poor and unemployed, the Exiles of Kotimaa would come out of the crisis stronger than when they had entered it.

In the late 2470s, the Exiles would officially join the interstellar community, with an identity that was not solely defined by their diaspora from their homeworld. As of 2480, the Exiles of Kotimaa are officially a stellar nation recognized by the majority of interstellar polities present within the Solar Neighborhood and have gained the status of  "member state" within the OSS.

### Zlatne Godine

"Zlatno Doba Prognanika" or "the Golden Age of the Exiles" (more commonly known as "Zlatne Godine" or "the Golden Age") refers to the period of time from the early 2480s up to the 2540s. Due to the Exiles' astrophysical position on the "Frontier" of charted space, they gained the ability to expand and exploit the vast resources present within the Outer Reach. A result of this was a rapid expansion period that lasted for a decade beginning at the turn of the 26th century. As quickly as systems were discovered they were claimed and colonized so long as they were within the Kotimaan sphere of influence, often the method used was the direct freehold to occupy the system until the necessary infrastructure was completed to establish an outpost.

While the Exiles' focused the majority of their resources on outward expansion and colonization, the traditional "frontier systems" were neglected in favor of new colonies. Years of neglect led to decaying infrastructure, poor living conditions, and deteriorating environments across the "Old Frontier" region of Exile space. The result was the secession of "An Teorainn Aontais" (the Frontier Union) from the Exiles of Kotimaa, it remained an unrecognized breakaway province within the Exiles of Kotimaa until the Collapse.

## **Government of the Exiles**

### A Unitary State

The government of the Exiles' follows a three-branch system, an executive branch, a legislative branch with a bicameral system, and a judicial branch. The Vismann-Alhakim, head of the executive branch is elected by the people of the Keiran Exiles.

The Vismennene-Alhukma' are the Visman-Alhakim's cabinet helping them enforce and uphold the laws passed by the elected councilors of the Vanha-Majlis. Members of the Viselderes are people who interpret, defend, and apply the Kansan Peruskirja, only with their approval are amendments able to be added to the constitution. Once the fifteen Viselderes gain their positions they retain them for life to avoid biases towards a single political ideology or party, they are appointed by councilors of the Vanha-Majlis.

The legislative branch is made up of the Kansan Talo (lower house) and the Keiranien Talo (upper house). Representatives from the five landsdeler are elected by the people in votes that occur every three years (relative to Keir). While the original draft of the Kansan Peruskirja vested the majority of political power within the Keiranien Talo, as the other systems within the Kotimaan Exiles grew so did the demand for greater representation, cumulating in the Liberation of Keir and the amending of the Kansan Peruskirja. As the population of their inhabited worlds continued to rise, the Kansan Peruskirja slowly gained amendments decreasing centralization and increasing landsdel autonomy.

### Landsdel Power

During the tumultuous post-liberation period following the Liberation of Keir, among other reconstructions was a series of reforms to the Kansan Peruskirja which would further weaken the Kotimaan government. The greatest demand present among the reformers was a massive increase in landsdel autonomy. Amendments such as the 28th "Landsdel and their fylke subdivisions are allowed to mobilize and maintain a standing terrestrial army should it become necessary for the defense." or the 19th "Should a law passed by the Vanha-Majlis negatively affect two-thirds of a given fylke's population, they may submit a complaint towards the Viselderes to allow for an exception to be made depending on their case to be detailed in a trial heard by the latter. " allowed for a loose interpretation of the Kansan Peruskirja, leading to a massive bureaucratic nightmare. Yet, the 2520s saw the repealing of many of the "Landsdel Power" amendments though the damage had been done, the Frontier Union's secession could be seen as legal, due to it occurring during the era of Landsdel Power.

### Terrestrial Military Forces

While the landsdeler gained the ability to create their own armed forces through the abuse of the 28th amendment created during the Landsdel Power Era of Kotimaan history, the ability to create an orbital military remained under full control of the Keiran government. This branch of the Kotimaans Forsvarsstyrke is referred to as the Terrestriske Væpnede Styrker. As a result of the 28th amendment, the various fylker within their respective landsdeler have vastly diverse væpnede styrker based on air, naval, and ground combat. Some forces are larger but poorly equipped, others are small but highly advanced. Many væpnede styrker on the same planet tend to conduct wargames and drills together being inspected by their fylke or landsdel.

The discrepancies between the various fylker militaries have caused tension between the poorer and more affluent landsdeler. These tensions have even caused skirmishes and full-blown wars between fylker and even the great landsdeler themselves. While no territorial exchanges occurred, it showed how problematic and weak the Kansan Peruskirja had become. A war between the Castilla (planet) and Zimski was the final straw, following the conflict the Vismann-Alhakim of the time pushed for a reduction in landsdel power ending the Era of their dominance within Kotimaan politics.

### Astronomical Military Forces

The naval force of the Kotimaan Exiles unlike its Terrestrial counterpart is standardized, efficient, and powerful. This branch of the Kotimaans Forsvarsstyrke is referred to as the Romforsvarsgren. The Romforsvarsgren bases its ship designs primarily around stealth and guerilla warfare tactics. Most of the Kotimaan ships are based upon those built during the initial stages of the Spredningen, they were constructed with dark composite materials (used to reflect signals from radar and lidar), with substantial in-built cooling systems to lower the chances of a heat signature being detected with some able to mimic the appearance of background radiation, alongside being painted with a reflective coating. All these qualities allowed the various fleets of the Spredningen to traverse warzones, slip past pirate blockades, and hide in plain sight from the Sirius Federation. While the majority of the great Rumfarende fartøj were dismantled or fell from orbit, a small number were preserved to repurpose into a skeleton military defense force.

Following its colonization, the planet Zimski was found to have a high concentration of materials used to create stealth technology mainly those required for the creation of dark composite materials and reflective coating. The exploitation of Zimski allowed the Romforsvarsgren to rapidly expand their capabilities and ability for conquest. A result of this was a heavy swift of military forces within the Himmeä system, due to the majority of Destroyers, Frigates, and Corvettes being manufactured and personnel trained within its SOI. Post-Collapse, it is speculated that the Zimsk people have gained dominance within the region contesting if not replacing the overwhelming influence of Keir.

### Tactics

The Romforsvarsgren orchestrates ambush and guerilla attacks on larger and often slower fleets with their highly mobile corvettes and frigates while their destroyers hang back and provide supporting fire from hidden positions. If their position is determined/revealed their stratagem shifts to a rapid pincher maneuver designed to confuse and scatter enemy forces into surrender. Should the Romforsvarsgren be facing an opponent with matching tactics, a pattern of missile fire followed by light corvette attacks is used to eliminate the enemy from a distance to avoid direct confrontation. The Romforsvarsgren's tactics have been adapted for similar small and weak forces to great effect, most infamously by Ti'il Banditái when attacking merchants, independent traders, refugee fleets, nomads, freeholds, and frontier worlds.

## **The Cultures of Kotimaan Pakolaiset**

"It's important to embrace our differences and similarities though we are not all Keiran, all of us are human. Tolerance of all peoples ensures that our country remains stable, united, and prosperous." **- Otvori Councilor, Shamas Vassilev**

Even before landfall, communal living and expansive trade networks were a staple of Exile culture, being a tradition from the homeworld. As a result of the myriad of ethnic and religious differences between the initial settlers of Kotimaailma, freedom of speech and communication alongside vibrant discussion and healthy political discourse grew to be crucial to stability on Kotimaailma. This tradition continued through the Spredningen, as those who resorted to violence often ended their trip outside of an airlock. An interesting side-effect of this tradition was the rising dominance of three languages within the Kotimaan Hegira: Norwegian, Finnish, and Arabic all three eventually supplanting Dutch as the primary language within their respective Rumfarende fartøj. Today every Exile citizen usually learns two languages, one national language and the other a local language (regional or planetary). Minority languages are a small part of the curriculum on Keir though they are far more significant in worlds like Zimski. On Keir, they learn at least three languages, two of the three national languages, and one of the "minority languages" as part of the educational curriculum. In some areas, only Norwegian and Arabic are spoken, in others Finnish and Arabic, and in other regions, the sole language is one of the minorities. Most people are taught either Norwegian or Finnish, and Arabic depending on the region and how it was settled.

While most star nations contain a fair amount of diverse cultures and peoples, the Exiles of Kotimaa are a truly multicultural nation representing a wide variety of the cultures found on Kotimaailma. The nation's architecture takes elements from ancient North African and traditional Viking designs harkening to the fusion of designs seen within Old Spain (now a part of Castille). Its cuisine shifts regionally from Nordic to traditional Mediterranean cuisine. One of the most popular Whiskeys comes from the world of Buadhach, near the edge of the Exiles but closer to the Core. As the centuries have passed, several regional stereotypes have formed based on certain attributes. Those from Buadhach are said to be free-spirited, having a low tolerance for those who seek to take away their freedoms. While those from Keir are seen as snobby towards foreigners but hospitable to those from other planets within the country. People hailing from the CRC territories are considered hard-working, dependable, and people with extreme patience but are anything but pushovers.

Abroad, the Exiles of Kotimaa are commonly referred to as the Koran Exiles (or Korans) much to the chagrin of the native Kotimaans. Seen as being extremely tolerant even to pirates, some see the Exiles as a soft nation. Despite reforms and the Age of the Landsdel Power, the nation remains a fairly centralized state (even semi-authoritarian depending on your home nation). While they've remained largely isolated from the international community, their status as a Great Power has gained the respect of the majority of star nations even resulting in several protectorates for the burgeoning republic.

### **Religion**

Early in the history of the Kotimaan Exiles, religious differences were the cause of tensions alongside ethnic differences between groups. It didn't help that those with fairer skin were often Christian while those with a more olive or darker skin tended to lean towards Islam. While initially a small minority, the amount of Atheists has continued to grow over the centuries. Interestingly despite the traditional conflicts between Muslims and Christians both groups tended to unite against the atheists rather than fight amongst one another, this was often the main cause of religious tensions. When not trying to convert/eliminate atheists, the other religious groups fought; some chose to fight politically or economically, others preferred conflict through warfare or conversion. During the Age of Landsdel Power, many fylke conflicts were often fought due to religious reasons and disputes among territories. After the Age of Landsdel Power, religious tensions quieted down due to reforms and a growing secular population cracking down on religious violence; there would no longer be brawls in the streets or religious wars.

However, recently the Solarian state religion of Humilism has begun to spread into the Kotimaa Exiles, though not at a level to be a threat towards the two dominant religions, its rapid rise has started to turn heads, especially on Castilla.