Taif Republic

The Empiricist was assigned to long range patrol duty on the outer edge of Galactic Rim largely due to the unreliability of its Captain, Daken Riu, who had ties to the old Republic political class and was widely suspected of being involved in anti-Imperial conspiracies. The Imperial Navy high command felt that there was little damage Riu could do so far from her support base in the Core Worlds.

The Imperial Admirals were correct about Riu's involvement in an anti-Imperial conspiracy but were wrong about her goals. Riu's Core World contacts had smuggled a secret weapon of some kind onboard the Empiricist, which the Captain secured on the ship with the aid of a small clique of Republican officers.

When the Empiricist entered the Taif system and was disabled by a starquake, the Republican officers saw their chance to stage a mutiny. Although they had the advantage of surprise, they were outnumbered by the Imperial loyalist officers, led by the ship's first officer and political commissar Vek Keilo. Their conflict further damaged the Empiricist, causing it to crash on the surface of Taif's single inhabitable planet.

The Republican officers managed to salvage some working speederbikes from a segement of the wreckage. Fleeing from the numerically superior Imperial forces, they fled into the rust wastes until they found a subterannean cavern that would shelter them from the rust storms and, more crucially, contained a source of drinkable water. Captain Riu, intent on maintaining military discipline, organised the twenty-odd survivors into a military unit.

All but one of the original officers has died of old age, but the Republic's forces have grown to nearly eighty adults. While organised as a military unit, they keep clearly to their traditions of democracy, making all major decisions in their 'Senate', composed of all adult members of the unit. Despite their isolation their morale and military discipline are high, largely due to a deception undertaken by the current captain, Sannikov, who claims to be in contact with the Republic high command and regularly gives them updates on great victories in the Galactic Civil War. The Taif Republicans believe that, while the Imperials are winning on their isolated planet, the Empire is losing the Galactic struggle, and that it is only a matter of time before reinforcements reach their world.

The key to the Republic's survival are its speederbikes, which have been kept in excellent working condition. These bikes not only allow them to outrun most of the Imperial vehicles, they can navigate over the fine-grained rust seas which mire down Imperial wheelers. The Republic soldiers ran out of blaster gas long ago, and have no means to get more, but they have got very good at making a wide variety of slugthrower weapons.

Members:

Captain Sannikov Lieutenant Vossi Lieutenant Kolova Warrant Officer Chorosho Warrant Officer Moloko