Founder:	Shiro Kurita
Year:	2319
Worlds:	322
Capital:	Luthien
Military:	Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery (DCMS)

History

The Combine's founder, Shiro Kurita, was born on New Samarkand in 2270. Raised in the traditional Japanese ways of bushido, he proved himself to be intelligent and capable from an early age. He entered New Samarkand's complex political system in his late teens, quickly learning the treacherous and often brutal game of power acquisition. By his early twenties, he had become overlord of one of it's city-states. Two years later, he became planetary ruler.

With his homeworld's political leaders, warlords and their attendant armies under his control, Shiro set about creating an empire. By 2310, through a mixture of diplomacy, guile and military force, he had gained control of, or formed alliances with, more than 30 worlds, including Dieron, Luthien, Pesht and Benjamin. This fledgling empire - then called the Alliance of Galedon - stretched from the close proximity of Terra, to a little-known area of space known as the Draconis Rift. Shiro renamed his empire after the spectacular Rift and thus the Draconis Combine was born.

For the next 30 years, he continued his policies of coercion, subterfuge and military action, doubling the size of the Combine by the time of his death in 2348. Shiro also created the position of Co-ordinator - the title given to the Combine's supreme ruler. His personality created the mould for future Co-ordinators, although not all have proven as capable. The Kuritas went on to become the ruling family of the Combine in an almost-unbroken chain of successions.

During most of the 25th century, the Combine was plunged into crisis by the inept rule of the Von Rohr dynasty of Co-ordinators. They engaged in persistent warfare with the Lyran Commonwealth, attacking border worlds in an effort to expand their realm. The military benefitted, to some extent, but the constant warfare brought the Combine's economy to it's knees.

Salvation came in 2510, when Martin McAllister, a nobleman from another family, close to the Kuritas, launched a coup to overthrow the Von Rohrs, with assistance from the Rasalhague Republic. It was a bloody uprising in which every member of the Von Rohrs family was killed.

McAllister's daughter, Siriwan McAllister-Kurita, redefined the role of Co-ordinator, bringing a very different kind of leadership to the Combine and ushering in an era of peace and prosperity. In 2569, her son, Hehiro signed the Treaty of Vega, making the Draconis Combine a member of the Star League. The following two centuries - the so-called "Golden Age of Mankind" - strengthened the Combine, both militarily and economically, enabling it to survive the three centuries of near-continuous war that followed the collapse of the Star League.

The ancient Japanese code of Bushido is at the core of many of the Combine's beliefs and customs...particularly within the DCMS, although it was originally just one of many influences. Co-ordinator Urizen Kurita II made it the cornerstone of Combine society in the early 27th century...a position which has not altered to this day.

This cultural shift began in 2617, when Co-ordinator Sanethia Kurita took the bold step of relocating the Combine's capital, from her family's homeworld of New Samarkand, to Luthien, which at the time was relatively undeveloped. Although with few natural resources and boasting no major cities, it lay closer to the centre of Combine territory. Developing the world into a fitting capital would provide a major challenge to the people. Luthien's capital, christened Imperial City, was built to a classical Japanese design, at great monetary and human cost, using vast quantities of granite, marble and teak. Many labourers died during its construction, but nothing was allowed to disrupt the work. When completed, it became a source of pride for all Combine citizens.

Already a devotee of bushido, Urizen immersed himself in 17th century Japanese culture, including art, history and religion. From the Co-ordinator, this spread throughout the Combine. One of his earliest reforms was Kokugaku - or "National Learning", which placed an emphasis on ancient Japanese history and philosophy. As intended, this produced new generations of Combine citizens who identified themselves and their nation, with the feudal Japan of over a thousand years ago.

This did not find favour with the Combine's citizens of non-Japanese descent, notably on the mainly Muslim world of Arkah. The imposition of Japanese culture and Buddhist teachings led to uprisings on this and other worlds. However, Urizen wasn't about to tolerate any kind of dissent. He dispatched teams of the Combine's much-feared Internal Security Force (ISF) to quell these rebellions. The ISF took his orders literally and this resulted in bloody purges on numerous worlds. By the end of Urizen's reign, the Combine had been transformed from an eclectic mix of cultures, with Far-Eastern leanings, into a State where only ancient Japanese customs and religion were tolerated. Anyone differing even slightly from the norm was severely punished. Having said that, a nation as large as the Draconis Combine is impossible to police effectively everywhere at once and small communities resisted the changes imposed.

One of the most notable of these was the Principality of Rasalhague...an area settled mainly by Swedish-speaking Scandinavians. Shiro Kurita made a failed attempt to make it part of the Combine in 2330. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Rasalhagians waged an effective guerilla camapign against the invading Kurita forces, eventually forcing them to withdraw in 2367. Leaving only a figurehead governor on Rasalhague and a detachment of troops to guard his residence, the Principality essentially remained an independent state.

Over the centuries that followed, the Principality's citizens endured everything the Combine could throw at them...including Urizen's cultural reforms, mass executions, kidnapping of suspected resistance leaders by the ISF and general abuse of the populace by DCMS garrison troops. Eventually, they gained independence in 3034.

Combine Society

The prime considerations for any Combine citizen are ninjo and giri - honour and duty. They must also be aware of their place in the highly structured social order...respectful of those above them and showing the expected reverence for anyone from the ruling Kurita family.

Although at first glance, the Combine may appear to be a nation which demands conformity, with little tolerance for those who wish to be different, there is a place for those who choose to live differently. They may have it forced upon them by law, or, if they can be of service to the Dragon (a nickname for both the Combine and the Co-ordinator) in another way, mutually beneficial agreements may be negotiated.

Order of the Five Pillars (O5P)

Originally, Urizen Kurita tasked the ISF with ensuring his decrees were complied with. Since the end of his reign, however, this task has been undertaken by an ancient society, founded in the 24th century by Omi Kurita - daughter of the founder Shiro. Known as the Order of the Five Pillars, it exists to preserve and teach the complex code of conduct, known as the Dictum Honorium. Contained in six separate volumes, it covers religious tradition, social mores, rules of etiquette and the guiding philosophy behind them.

Before Urizen's reign, the O5P concerned itself mainly with ensuring the loyalty of the Combine's citizens to House Kurita. After Urizen's reign, loyalty to House Kurita meant conformity to the ways of ancient Japan and so the task of ensuring the populace's adherence to the old ways fell to the Order. However, it was not officially sanctioned until several decades later, during the tenure of Sanyu Kurita.

Sanyu, the strong-willed sister of the weak and indecisive Parker Kurita, ascended to the role of Co-ordiantor after his assassination in 2412. Using her considerable influence, she gained control of trade and military assets, to provice the O5P with funds and its own paramilitary force.

This enabled the Order to survive the first few decades of the reign of the Von Rohrs, but eventually, they moved openly against the O5P in 2459, following Sanyu's death. Co-ordinator Kozo Von Rohrs took on the mantle of Keeper of the House Honour (the Order's highest position) and arranged the murder of Abbess Jamila Benhashemi. This sparked a wave of assassinations among the Order's higher echelons, prompting the lower-ranking members to go into hiding, effectively dissolving the O5P.

It was only 50 years later, after Martin McAllister restored Kurita rule, that the Order's surviving members emerged from the shadows to assume their former roles. O5P reached the zenith of its powers under the reign of Siriwan McAllister Kurita, who, in an effort to prevent a repeat of the Von Rohr dynasty, sought to build the Order into a force which could effectively counter the power of the Co-ordinator. Today, the Order has intelligence and operational capabilities which rival the ISF.

The Caste System

Despite being highly class-conscious, or perhaps because of it, Combine society manages to find a place for people from all walks of life, even for the determinedly non-conformist. It is thought that deliberately including potentially disruptive influences into the tightly-woven social structure, helps to preserve stability, since no-one is truly an outcast.

The 5 castes generally acknowledged by the Combine, are the Nobles (Kuge), Warriors (Buke), the middle classes, the Workers (Heinin) and the Unproductives.

Naturally, the Co-ordinator is the ranking noble, viewed as the embodiment of the nation (hence the informal title of "Dragon"). Together with the rest of the nobility, they wield virtually absolute power over the rest of Combine society. Members of the DCMS and any other paramilitary forces fall into the Warrior caste, while merchants, industrialists and practitioners of the major professions (doctors, teachers, lawyers, scientists, musicians etc.) make up the Middle Classes. Skilled and semi-skilled labourers such as factory hands, bricklayers, plumbers, technicians and shop workers form the Worker caste.

At the bottom of the pile are the Unproductives, a mix of unskilled labourers and criminals, who are frequently called upon to perform the dirty, dangerous or just plain distasteful tasks, vital to the running of the state, but which everyone else would rather avoid.

The Unproductive caste is a veritable melting pot of all the misfits in Combine society: petty criminals, refugees, disgraced former members of higher castes and even those belonging to powerful organised crime syndicates, such as the Yakuza. Many potential threats to the Combine's social order exist here, but being incorporated into society, even in a lowly capacity, makes it much more difficult for these bottom-dwellers to try and subvert it...at least, thats the theory. Given their power and far-reaching abilities, the Yakuza are allowed a certain freedom to operate, provided their activities don't threaten the security and economic well-being of the state as a whole.

Recently, the Unproductives were given the chance to regain some honour and status in society with the formation of the Ghost Regiments, introduced by Theodore Kurita to address acute manpower shortages in the DCMS, after the Fourth Succession War. Although predominantly staffed by members of the Yakuza and lacking the usual political indoctrination common to other regiments, they have served with distinction against the Clans and manage to serve both the wishes of their oyabun (Yakuza bosses) and the Co-ordinator.

House Kurita

Having a large, well-trained military and agencies such as the ISF and O5P, the Combine's rulers wouldn't have too much trouble keeping the populace in line, should anyone get ideas above their station or become dissatisfied with the leadership. However, it is a testament to the people's devotion to the Kurita family, bordering on worship, that such events are extremely rare. It is this reverence which creates a strong loyalty to House Kurita, from the highest noble to the lowliest labourer.

This isn't entirely surprising, since the Combine's citizens are taught from an early age, that their personal honour is dependent on fulfilling their assigned place in society and their duty to the Co-ordinator.

Theodore Kurita has taken a more liberal stance on some aspects of the social code, which stemmed from his belief that blind obedience to one's superiors could be a potentially fatal flaw in soldiers. However, while using one's own initiative is now encouraged within the DCMS, free thinking is still generally frowned on outside the military, since the Dictum Honorium is still considered the ultimate guide for correct social interaction.

Perhaps the best example, of the extent of the peoples' loyalty to the ruling family, can be found in the Yakuza's rescue of Hohiro Kurita, after his capture by Clan Smoke Jaguar, during their assault on the world of Turtle Bay in 3050. Using their own network of contacts, they traced the Co-ordinator's son to an ISF prison, captured by the Jaguars and staged a breakout, helping Hohiro escape off-planet. On realising they had lost an extremely valuable bargaining chip, the furious Jaguar commander ordered an orbital strike on the city of Edo. The local Yakuza knew they would likely face serious reprisals, but went ahead with the mission to free Hohiro anyway, risking destruction for the honour of serving the Kurita family.

Patriotism and Conformity

Despite the levels of indoctrination and expectations placed on all Combine citizens to conform to the accepted norms, non-Japanese elements do manage to exist and even thrive within the Combine's borders. While previous Co-ordinators have attempted to force them to conform, or stamp them out, other rulers have recognised the benefits such cultural diversity can bring. One case in point are the Azami, Muslims of Arab descent, who have settled on a number of worlds near Terra and the border with the Federated Suns. Under the current regime, they have been granted a certain degree of autonomy in return for basic adherence to the Dictum Honorium. So far, the arrangement has proven to be mutually beneficial.

The Shadow War

This conflict, despite going unseen and unheard by the general population, was the closest the Combine has ever come to a civil war. It was waged throughout the realm during the 2860s, although the stage was set forty years earlier when Co-ordinator Jinjiro Kurita founded the Peoples' Reconstruction Effort, which was aimed at rebuilding the Combine after the ravages of the Second Succession War. Given that the head of the PRE was responsible for co-ordinating the recovery of the Combine's military, infrastructure, economy, research and development, as well as its political hierarchy, the authority they possessed was second only to the Co-ordinator himself.

When Yoguchi Kurita succeeded his uncle Jinjiro in 2838, he appointed his sister Roweena as head of the PRE. Having long harboured resentment at the restrictions placed on female authority in the male-dominated Combine, Roweena had spent several years, prior to her appointment, gaining influence with the ISF, many of whose senior officers had been outraged at having their agency placed under the control of the DCMS by Yoguchi.

Using her authority as head of the PRE, Roweena aided the ISF in their power struggle against the DCMS. In return, the ISF turned a blind eye to her schemes to accumulate vast personal wealth. She contented herself with these activities for several years, making no attempt to assume rulership of the Combine when a Lyran agent assassinated Yoguchi in 2850. Instead, her younger brother Miyogi became the new Co-ordinator.

Howerver, Roweena's role as head of the PRE, gave her a much greater public profile than the Co-ordinator. That, combined with the PRE's sheer size and influence, made Miyogi uneasy, prompting him to have his elder sister put under investigation. This set in motion a chain of events which almost proved disastrous for the Combine. The order to have Roweena investigated for "un-Combine activities" made the Co-ordinator unpopular with many operatives, with some even questioning his motives...a stunningly disloyal act for those entrusted with ensuring loyalty to the Co-ordinator.

The end of the Third Succession War in 2863, gave Miyogi the opportunity to step up the investigation. A small squad of elite ISF agents, whose loyalty to the Co-ordinator was beyond reproach, were tasked with uncovering agents sympathetic to Roweena and "dealing with them", which invariably meant assassinating them. Those who remained loyal to Roweena fought back and over the next 2 years, this struggle resulted in the deaths of more than a thousand ISF agents.

As the conflict, soon dubbed "The Shadow War", spilled into the open, members of the public began to number among the casualties as well. This was because the ISF was so prevalent throughout the Combine and it was hard to know who the agents were, let alone which faction they belonged to. All it took was an unguarded word in support of one side, overheard by a sympathiser with the other faction and people...sometimes entire families...could disappear without trace.

When word of the troubles began to spread beyond the Combine's borders, rising tensions threatened to drag the DCMS into the conflict. The High Command, although initially divided over which Kurita to back, eventually sided with the Co-ordinator. In January 2866, DCMS commandos stormed a number of key PRE offices and hide-outs of the pro-Rowena ISF. Soon afterwards, Co-ordinator Miyogi disbanded the PRE and the ISF underwent a purge, lasting over 20 years, to rid it of disloyal elements.

The remaining operatives, furious at having been used as pawns in the power struggle between the two Kuritas, retreated to New Samarkand and refused any direct contact with the Combine government, instead accepting requests via an intermediary at the Sun Zhang military academy. It was not until Co-ordinator Shinjiro Kurita visited the world in 2921, for the first of a series of meetings with ISF Director Clarissa Indrahar, that the rift began to heal. The ISF were awarded a place in the DCMS High Command as a condition for their acceptance at being placed under military control. However, along with other concessions they received, was the tacit right to judge the Co-ordinator's fitness for office.

Post 3050

The unprecedented co-operation between the Combine and the Federated Suns, during the Clan War, has helped to ease the traditional suspicion of anything foreign. This was of great benefit to the numerous Combine citizens of non-Japanese descent.

This turned out to be good preparation for the much more difficult task of integrating with Clan Nova Cat, who chose to leave Clan space and become part of the Inner Sphere. The former conquerors of Combine worlds, stood with the DCMS and fought against the other invading Clans as part of the newly-reformed Star League. The Nova Cats were rewarded with a number of Combine planets on which to settle. Although the Clanners' arrival caused significant tensions, although relations have been improved by Theodore Kurita's younger son Minoru, acting as liaison.

The gradual rise of reactionary elements since Theodore's accession in 3054 has proven to be a subtler, more insidious threat. Conservative (old-fashioned or traditional might be more accurate) members of the ISF have formed an alliance with a similarly-minded, though more extreme, group known as the Black Dragons, who are bitterly opposed to Theodore Kurita's military and social reforms. These include the loosening of the moral and social strictures laid out in the Dictum Honorium, the alliance with the Nova Cats and the growing relations between the Combine and the Federated Suns. The highlight of the ISF-Black Dragon alliance was an assassination attempt on the Co-ordinator in 3058, after a high-ranking ISF officer managed to subvert an number of commando recruits to the cause. The attempt failed as the bulk of the ISF remains steadfastly loyal to the Co-ordinator.

For now, the Combine is strong and stable, committed to maintaining its Japanese heritage, but open to different cultures. Co-ordinator Theodore Kurita and his children are providing exceptional leadership, ensuring the Combine is ready to meet whatever challenges the future holds.