Veilhal Nomads

Veilhal Nomads
General Information
Motto	"The spirit and sword will reshape the Galaxy"
Status	Active
Leader	Konginde Ylvia Skelgard
2IC	Regent Jorn Stones
Historical Information
Founded	Year 18 Day 211
Political Information
Industry	Manufacturing
Holosite	Veilhal

Veilhalian Nomads is a group of space faring travellers, mercenaries, merchants and pilgrims who are bound by one purpose, to find a home within the vast empty beyond. Travelling in a large gathering of ships that is simply referred to as The Flotilla, the Veilhalians travel from one sector to another. In their travel they establish small outposts for trade and cultural exchange as the movement seeks out new things to add to the benefit of the group and make it stronger.

History

Veilhal Nomadic movement roots can be traced back as far as space travel introduction into the tribal societies on Kiffu and Kiffex. Somewhat isolationist Kiffars, who already were weary of each other and other clans, left their worlds and were exposed to different species, their cultures and customs. Some Kiffars dismissed these alien cultures as bad influence, growing ever stronger in their xenophobic believes, others embraced and with that, the wish to explore more and see more than the hot desert sands of Kiffu or lush plains of Kiffex. The explorer spirit was born. Building great ships and traveling with their families, these Kiffars traveled far and wide, often coming back to their homeworlds and bringing back new stories what it was like out there among the stars. While still majority of Kiffar clans considered them as outsiders and no better than aliens, Clan Skelgard saw more.

With acquisition of wealth and formation of the company ‘’Vargheim Steel’’, Skelgard elders started to employ these space traveling Kiffars. With their help, great shipyards and stations were build and soon the influence of the Skelgard spread further and further among the stars, which eventually led to the creation of Vargheim Enterprises that employed thousands across the galaxy.

As centuries passed, both people changed and eventually merged. Already being shunned by other clans, Clan Skelgard embraced the ideology of these space nomadic Kiffars, while the explorers embraced the warrior and industrious spirit of the clan. The movement was born and identity formed – Veilhal. Setting forges, shipyards and factories to roar all days and nights for years, a mighty flotilla was built. Thus now the people who called themselves Veilhal Nomads set forth as one among the stars, absorbing different cultures, people and ideals to strengthen their purpose of exploration and finding a place in the stars.

The Veilhalian social hierarchy

Taking its tribal roots from Kiffar society, the Flotilla is divided into various Heims that are spread over several ships. Heim is a family unit or House for the Veilhalian people, where the arrangement of individuals is based on their shared ideals, bloodlines, and/or oaths. Such families could have dozens to thousands of members. For people who join the Flotilla, it is neither uncommon to form a new Heim nor to join a pre-existing one. Because of the harsh environment that exists in space, a great emphasis is placed on the dependency upon one another and trust; as a result of this, Heim bonds become very strong - if not sacred - to those who share the same Heim. The leader of the Heim is given the title of Atan, and answers about her/his Heim to the Konginde, the supreme leader of the Flotilla. The collection of Atans is called the Conclave and acts as the civil representative branch of the Flotilla.

The Veilhalian symbols

Armour

One of recognisable symbols of the Veilhal Nomads, is the distinctive armour that they wear. It can serve both as insulated suit from the dangers of the open space and be as a protective armour. Its design comes from the most earlier Veilhalians, who were Kiffars from Kiffu, and such needed a protective armour from the harsh sand storms that occasionally occurred on the worlds dune seas. Most protective layers of the armour are made from durasteel alloys and carbon based fibres which make the armour itself be also lightweight and offer more mobility for the wearer. The helmet also includes a tactical hud for the user to interact with and it offers both command integration functions as well as treat assessment software. The blue cloth around the armour is more of a symbolic element, as the colour has been taken as the groups symbol. Sometimes the armour is complimented with additional cloak, whose colour indicates the social standing within the flotilla.

The Structure of Veilhalian colonies

Because Veilhalian civilisation is growing larger and spreading their influence further and further, the great Flotilla ships no longer can support the ever raising population numbers as well as meet the demands for the goods and other commodities. As such, it was decreed that permanent settlements would be established and the Veilhalian presence maintained there.

Veilhalian Habitat

Usually consisting of a station that can support few hundred people, the habitats serve as a place for Veilhalians to live and also interact with nearby communities on the inhabited worlds around. The need for the Habitats grew as the numbers of people grew within the Flottila, as both the life support systems and hydroponic farms couldn’t support anymore. Usually habitats are owned by individual Heims, and are on their own self sufficient in terms of food, if not; usually a trade agreements of exchange are struck with the nearby planet dwellers. In tongue of Veilhal, these habitats are called Ygranar, or heaven seeds.

Outposts

A collection of space stations within a certain point or sector, usually gives raise for settlement to be referred to as a outpost, where thousands Veilhalians live and work. Even trading stations are set up to facilitate trade and exchange of culture and ideals within the nearby space. While at times entire outposts are led by a single Heim, they sometimes are set up by various smaller ones working together, and as such a democratic governing body in form of a citizen council is set up within the communities. The members are elected every 5 CGT years from within the settlement inhabitants. In tongue of Veilhal, these settlements are called Hagmors, or high bridge. The word takes its roots from time when usually trading outposts were set near important roads, which usually were river crossings.

Void Cities

As the outposts grew more and more, with stations and population that included even people from nearby planets, it gains a status of a Void City, a settlement that consists of thousands of Veilhalians and members of other groups. Vast arrays of shipyards and factories are used every day, and asteroid mining missions are set to secure vital materials and fuel sources for the nomad ships. The biggest difference in void cities and outposts is that there is a vast governing body with bureaucratic workers known as Vazirs, who are under the governor of the settlement – Earlgar, who is both the civilian and military commander, as the settlements usually consists of defense installations, detachments of marines and combat ship elements.

Noteworthy Veilhalian places of the Flotilla

Singularity

Singularity is a nightclub that is located inside Delhimn, the Lictor-class Dungeon Ship, which sometimes is more commonly referred as the Prison of Sin. The establishment itself has been build in one of the warship cargo holds, and can accompany many patrons as it has been spread out in multiple decks of the ship.

Farsaad

Most of commerce and trade that goes on between nomads and other people happen on Farsaad, a old retrofitted Quasar Fire-class Bulk Cruiser. In its hangar deck various merchant stalls and even tents have been set up

The Haunted Foundry

The Haunted Foundry, as it is colloquially called among the Nomads, is a converted EF76 Nebulon-B Escort Frigate which hosts a significant portion of Veilhal's production output. Found abandoned in an asteroid field by a Mon Calamari trader, the ship was eventually acquired by the Flotilla for a mere 100,000 Credits. According to the previous owner, the old vessel is possessed by entities of the Darkside, hence his willingness to dispose of it as soon as possible, and for much less than the ship's effective value. Perhaps due to its reputation and the absence of information on its past voyages, an ominous atmosphere is perceived throughout the ship, even though nothing out of the ordinary can be seen in its locales.

The ship features three floors and a total of eleven rooms. The command bridge, located on the uppermost floor, is a neatly arranged space in which the ship's officers and production managers oversee all operations. Also located on the third floor is the busy docking bay, where hauling crafts can be observed coming in with raw materials, only to depart with finished goods. Most of the work rooms are located on the second floor, each one containing conveyor belts and industrial equipment used to manufacture wares in high demand throughout the Flottilla, including the Veilhal's famous armor designs. The lonely room at the base floor is used as a storage area.(edited) The crew constantly rotates according to the working schedule, in part due to the lack of accommodations and adequate living facilities, but also because most of the personnel refuse to live aboard the ship. Odd noises can be heard echoing across the halls connecting the various rooms, and some of the workers have reported hearing muffled crying coming from the bulkheads, which has led many Nomads to believe that the ship might host hidden rooms yet to be discovered.

Whatever the Foundry is truly Haunted or not remains to be ascertained. The only certainty is that the Veilhal Flotilla would lose much of its industrial volume, should an unfortunate occurrence ever befall the ship.

The Asmodaios

The Asmodaios, a newly constructed Dreadnought-Class Heavy Cruiser, is a recent addition to the Nomad Flotilla, captained by it's owner, Kaidan Morbus. In addition to providing a portion of the fleet's defensive firepower, the Asmodaios also contains a wide array of rooms designed with the training of fighting beings in mind. Gyms, Dojos, and even Gunnery ranges can be found aboard, and all members of the Nomad fleet are welcome at any time to practice the arts of violence, either by themselves or under the tutelage of one of the crew's instructors.

Despite serving the fleet, the Asmodaios has a somewhat shady reputation. In addition to the critical systems commonly prohibited on larger vessels, entire decks are off-limit to visitors, particularly in the ship's keel (bottom), and the ship's crew remain tight-lipped and evasive when asked by outsiders about the ship or it's business. Smaller ships regularly arrive and depart from it's docking bays, though where they go, the crew will not say. Despite this concerning reputation, no member of the Nomad fleet has ever been harmed or gone missing aboard the Asmodaios, beyond the occasional training injury.

Noteworthy Veilhalian places outside of Flotilla

Hjalmar plaza

The old ‘’Hjalmar plaza’’ station has remained mostly dormant for decades, but now has saw a increase in activity. Situated light years away from any inhabited known system and on the outskirts of a nebula, the once designated station ‘’RF-234051.KF’’ served once as a refuelling depot and outpost for Republics fleets, but after the Ruusan Reformation that saw the demilitarisation of the Republics armed forces, the outpost was abandoned and auctioned to the public sector. During this time it came under the ownership of Clan Skelgard, which sought to use it for their merchant fleet and newly formed company Vargheim Steel, which while was a local Azurbani based company, still sought to expand its reach and influence to the wealthy Core system.

The groups within the Veilhal

The Veilhal is a united front of people but along with the Veilhalians, there are many other, who ether are driven to seek the safety in the numbers of the flotilla or just be part of it.

Variags

Other group is the mysterious Variags, the strange warrior cult that view battle above all else and cherish it, no matter what would be the odds against them. Sometimes viewed as plain savages even by some of the Veilhalians, they still hold zealously to their codes of honour and rather would die than break them. They can be seen on the front lines of the Veilhalian landing parties, and when it comes to tactics, Variags are viewed as the elite shock troops of the Veilhal.

Merchant Guild

The biggest of the non-Veilhalian groups within the Flotilla, is the Merchant Guild, the loose organisation of independent merchants and smugglers with no defined leadership and yet with a common cause – the galactic credit. Ether by using their network of influential contacts or just the knack of securing the vital supplies for the flotilla, they have remained in considerable power position even if they come head to head with the flotilla leadership. Their ‘’union’’ representatives can be found at every ship, outpost and a trading station where there is any credit flow happening.