Hapan
 | |
| Hapan | |
| Homeworld | Hapes Most Hapes Cluster worlds |
| Language | Hapan |
| Average Height | 1.7 m - 2.0 m |
| Skin color | Pale to Dark |
| Distinctions | Extraordinary physical beauty Poor night vision |
| Known Members | List of known Hapans |
Hapans are an isolationist humanoid species from the Hapes star cluster, who are well known for both their wealth and their strong defense of its borders. Hapan mores and values were shaped by a matriarchal society for over 4000 years, and only recently have begun to change. Although Hapans are humanoid, they differ from other human races in two major ways: their almost universal physical beauty and a form of genetic night blindness.
Hapans are very nature loving and aware of their surroundings. Unlike many civilizations the Hapans have always built around and with the nature on their planet, putting lots of time and energy in to the caring of their plants, forests and natural surroundings. Next to the very honourable jobs such as in the military and government are the jobs that take care of their great gardens. Honour and pride are also a very large part of Hapan society. This has proven to be one of the backbones in Hapan culture that has been a solid building stone for both the civilian side of life as well as the military. Although the Hapans are peaceful, they hold a very powerful military. Of course honor also puts a large support on the Hapan monarchy.
The native language of the Hapans was Hapan. The Hapan language developed over the years due to isolation from the rest of the Galaxy, and was spoken throughout the Consortium. Galactic Basic Standard was not commonly known to the average Hapan.[1]
Society
The Hapans were ruled by the Queen Mother from Fountain Palace as part of the Hapes Consortium. The title of Queen Mother was hereditary, passed down from mother to daughter. If the Queen Mother failed to have daughters, the wife of the firstborn son became Queen Mother. However, to be in the line of succession meant both the Queen Mother and her heirs had to avoid constant attempts on their lives by jealous relatives who vied for the throne themselves.[1]
In addition to the Queen Mother, there were also representatives from each Consortium member planet at the Royal Court. Their main purpose was to vote on matters of importance and to give updates on the political and social conditions of their home planets that may require the Queen Mother's attention. The Queen Mother had the final say on everything, and her word was considered law.[1]
The Hapan Navy consisted of at least sixty-three Hapan Battle Dragons, one for each member world, and were usually backed up by X-wings, Hapes Nova Battle Cruisers, and Miy'til starfighters.[1]
The main functions of the Hapan Navy were to keep outsiders from entering the Hapes Consortium and to defend the Consortium in times of war. Any unauthorized persons who attempted to enter the Consortium without permission were dealt with in a swift and brutal manner. Other functions of the Navy were as escorts of the royal family when they left Hapes, and for flushing pirates out of the Transitory Mists.[1]
There were also ground-based military units, such as members of the royal guard. Members of the royal guard wore red, and were usually handpicked for their posts. It was considered a great honor to serve the royal family, and people who did were accorded much respect among the populace.[1]
Amonst this governing body also sat the Hapan Dragoons. A extention of the hand of the Queen mother, a royal guard army for protection of the Queen who held law above all those before the Queen Mother.[1]
Hapan culture, at least among the upper classes, was based on assassination attempts and struggles for power. Most upper class Hapans would think nothing of arranging the death of one of their own if it would advance their own cause. Ta'a Chume had demonstrated this principle numerous times when she had arranged for the deaths of her elder son, her younger son's fiancé, and her daughter-in-law, and attempted to have her granddaughter and great-granddaughter killed. In addition, there was a class based system within Hapan society. Among the royal family of Hapes, its members did not treat their servants well with women being accorded greater respect than men, industrialists afforded more respect than farmers and finally royalty being given the most respect to all. Thus, the concept of treating one of lower status as an equal was something that was quite foreign to their way of thinking.[1]
The Queen Mother was treated like a goddess by the Hapans, and her selection of a consort was important to all her people. Candidates for the role of consort often came from the nobility, mainly to keep the gene pool vibrant. There were fierce rivalries between many noble houses over which house would get their sons to father the next Queen Mother, and nobles often plotted against both the consort and the heir of the Queen Mother who was not fathered by one of their own.[1]
Due to the matriarchal society of the Hapes Consortium, men were often treated as second class citizens. Although most Hapan males were used mainly for breeding, some held positions of power, although their ability to use it was limited. Some Hapan men who felt trapped by their position in society often ran away and became pirates. These men hid out in the Transitory Mists and preyed on unsuspecting vessels, at least until caught by passing Nova Battle Cruisers. When captured, they would be put on trial, and possibly executed depending on how severe the charge was.[1]
Anti-Jedi sentiment was rife among the Hapans, mainly due to the fact that the Lorell Raiders had fallen to the Jedi.[1]
The Hapan people had a deep (some would say neurotically so) love of beauty. If a person, especially the heir to the throne, was blemished or deformed in any way, it was considered a fate worse than death.[1]
History
Hapans are descendants from a group of pirates called the Lorell Raiders that originally settled Hapes. The pirates barbaric practice included pillaging nearby systems. They were wiped out by Jedi Knights when they started making raids into Old Republic supply centers. The survivors, mostly women, swore never to let a man run the government following this defeat. All power in a hereditary monarch to be known as the Queen Mother, and men assumed a subservient role, with little voice in politics or business.
The Lorell Raiders, along with any other treasure they would plunder, would abduct beautiful Human women from all over the Galaxy and bring them back to Hapes. The women would stay on Hapes and raise their children. The Lorell Raiders would take boys and make the raids only to return to Hapes to rest.[1]
After the mostly male Lorell Raiders were wiped out, Hapes was forgotten. Around 3,100 BBY, a Queen Mother sealed the borders to the newly created Hapes Consortium from the rest of the Galaxy, ordered the starship Star Home to be constructed, and quickly captured many more planets for the Hapans to colonize. Information on Hapan history afterwards was very hard to come by, but what was found was that sometime in the distant past, several members of the Hapes Consortium tried to secede from the influence of Hapes, but were quickly crushed. Those worlds became known as the Rifle Worlds, and eventually they became the commerce base of the Consortium.[1]
For many generations, the Hapes Consortium advocated isolation from the rest of the galaxy.
