Observations on the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire and its peoples

By Vice-Admiral Alan Chandrasekhar
Military Liaison,1
st Class
9
th Expeditionary Fleet, United Space Forces

Background

For eight years, I have acted as the Space Forces 9th Fleet's liaison to the 181st Royal Guards Combined Task Force, posted principally along a section of eight star-systems in the Cryos Nebula, a portion of what is known locally—roughly translated—as the Inner Periphery of the Sacred Realm of the Hashiyo-Hashiyo Nation (Ninyo Koroyo Narl Hashiyo-Hashiyo), known more commonly as the Ctarl-Ctarl Empire. Almost seven years ago, I was asked by the Navy Chiefs of Staff to compose a revised section on the Empire to replace the outdated Navy Manual dating back to more than thirty years ago. Seven years later, on the eve of my retirement, I believed I've composed a manual sufficiently accurate and up-to-date for the needs of the Navy.

To avoid confusion, I have primarily used the official Space Forces designation for all terminology applying to our own government and society. Likewise, I have included the terminology used by the Ctarl-Ctarl People, as dictated in the 445th Revision of the Ctarl-Ctarl Language, released by their government two years ago, where possible. The term 'Ctarl-Ctarl' is used in the case of nouns, or adjectives that relate to their society, reflecting the common use of double-phonetics in their language, while the Terran use of 'Ctarl' as an adjective is applied to certain scientific terms in which it has been agreed upon by both parties. Similarly, I will be using the popular term 'Terran' for Homo sapiens sapiens, as it's predominantly used not just by the Ctarl-Ctarl, but by the other space-faring species in the galaxy.

Introduction

In comparison to Terra, the approximately nine-hundred and eighty occupied star systems of the Empire reside slightly past the Inner Orion Belt, ranging 7.61±0.32 to 7.21±0.32 kpc from the Galactic Center. In this context, the outer border of the Empire could be defined as being well within a parsec of the Tempa Stellar Region, home of the well-known neutral trade outpost, Blue Moon, and the dual star systems of Heifong III and Heifong IV, and the Black Hole Sagitarrius A* near the Galactic Center, which the Empire claimed in the aftermath of the Third Succession Wars against the Pirate Guilds. Approximately eighty percent of populous Imperial star systems, and more than ninety-nine percent of its citizenry, reside within this triangle.

The Sacred Realm, as the Empire is known locally, is divided into the Inner and Outer Peripheries. The Outer Periphery extends approximately seven-hundred parsecs from the border of the Empire inwards, and is divided in thirty-three Border Districts with eighty-nine major star systems. These star systems, acquired more recently by means military force, exist in a state of semi-martial law and are still lightly populated: of thousands, only one system has a population of over five-million residents: New Avalon, which retains its pre-Ctarl-Ctarl name, with a population of 6.8 million. While they only make up approximately six-percent of the Empire's population, these worlds do feature a disproportionately high percentage of the Empire's non-Ctarl-Ctarl population, between thirty and thirty-two percent. It is estimated more than ninety million Terrans reside in the Outer Periphery. Most of the worlds of the Outer Periphery are between the third and forth levels of terraforming. Terrans, along with other non-Ctarl-Carl peoples, mostly trace their own lineage to the mass exoduses in the early days of Sub-Ether Warfare.

The Inner Periphery extends into the center of the Empire, and includes the remaining nine-hundred occupied star systems, and represents the urbanized, technologically-advanced center of the Empire. A majority of the worlds, historically, were colonized by the Ctarl-Ctarl themselves shortly after their development of Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel, seven-hundred years ago, and their further acquirement of Sub-Ether Technology. In the approximate center, within the Nochi-Nochi Star Cluster, is the Ctarl-Ctarl Homeworld, part of a seven-star cluster, and eighth planet in a local system.

(Figure 1: the Nochi-Nochi Star Cluster. The Homeworld System is third from the left.)

Traditionally, the origin planet of the Ctarl-Ctarl is referred to only as The Homeworld, or Home (Hokiyo). Politically, the world's name is changed with each Ctarl-Ctarl Dynasty, as is the name of the Empire itself, and Home's current official name is Hashiyo-Hashiyo Prime. Even within the Empire, and especially by the current Dynasty's detractors, the name is rarely used. Among Terrans, the name Ctarl-Ctarl or Ctarl-Ctarl Prime is also used, somewhat inaccurately.

Home is believed to be the evolutionary origin as the Ctarl-Ctarl as a species—traditionally, the first Ctarl-Ctarl are credited with the construction of the the famed Aruba Reba Ruins on Home several millennia ago, though it is also thought to be well beyond their capabilities. The very earliest surviving artifacts of the Ctarl-Ctarl civilization originate from the same time period, and seem to indicate their earliest activities as hunter-gatherers. This leads me to my next section, which I believe is fundamental to understanding the Empire.