Origins
The space nomads travel the Horizon in ancient ships, often heavily modified and jury-rigged, using whatever spare parts their engineers can get hold of. Just like other Firstcome people, the nomads are clan oriented with large families, passing down a profession through generations. From your early years, you will be an apprentice pilot, hydroponic farmer, life support engineer, security guard, or maybe an exo warrior. The clan organizes all of
society’s functions.
Since the arrival of the Zenithians, the nomads are increasing in numbers, probably due to the fact that ships are easier to come by and that the best planets are quickly becoming crowded. Many people are faced with the choice of moving away and becoming colonists or making the stars their home, and choose the latter. The nomads fear nothing. They know death is waiting on the other side of the hull and that the smallest mistake could lead them to it. On the other hand, they are freer than any other people – they can go anywhere, jump as they please, and lead adventurous lives. The saying “a drop of nomad’s blood in you” is used to describe wild or impulsive people. Most nomadic groups keep to one route or territory, usually remaining within one system.
There are reports indicating that more mystics have appeared among the nomads than elsewhere, something that would support the theory that it is the Dark between the Stars that is the source of “the Blight”.
POLITICS
The Nomad Federation is a collective of nomadic fleets from across the Horizon, all of whom, in different ways, have come under pressure from the aggressive expansion of other factions.
The federation is a jumble of different families, clans, bloodlines, alliances and tribes all claiming nomad heritage.
Most nomads in the Federation are from the Quadrant of the Pillar, the Rimward Reach or Nharmada, but the Kyhber swarm from Algol, the salvage nomads from Odacon and the Jebel and Chambi clans from Melik are also represented here. The prime goal of the faction is to strengthen the nomads against the other factions whose claims in the Horizon have grown considerably, especially since the founding of Coriolis.
The spokesperson for the Federation on Coriolis is Abyeia Goharshûd, a proud Quadrant mogul descendant of Housyan blood. She was originally a member of the Free League and tried to lobby for the nomad cause there, but after a falling out, she and her nomad allies left the League and worked independently for a while on Coriolis. The nomads’ need for a representative at the Council was becoming increasingly urgent, and bit by bit, rival clans and families came together in support of Goharshûd and the campaign to get her a seat on the Council.
NEW POLICIES
What kind of issues the faction would address at the Council is uncertain, but it is likely that they would demand that the nomad culture be treated as equal to that of other peoples, and act as political opposition to the Zenithian factions – after all, it is they, not the nomads, who are the newcomers in the Horizon. In the popular assembly on Coriolis, the nomads have argued that the Zenithians must start respecting old laws and decrees, but up until recently, the Zenithian factions have responded to the demands without interest – something they are now beginning to regret.
Suddenly a powerful force in the popular assembly, the nomads have demanded a seat on the Council of Factions – or else. Their threats include the disruption of Consortium trade in the Quadrant of the Pillar and Free League activities in the Nharmada system, and a collective strike against the prospectors in the Rimward Reach. Thanks to the impressive armada the nomads could scramble if they wanted to, the threats are taken very seriously.
A TROUBLED FEDERATION
The giant federation faces a huge internal problem. Not only can they rarely present a unified
front – bad blood passed down through generations of feuding tribes makes sure of that – but
they also support the ways of old that would see the faction itself divided into different social
strata with conflicting class interests. These pre-war alliances and divisions give Goharshûd
a difficult faction to unite.
The nomads from the Quadrant of the Pillar, spoken for by Osman Naqsh-i-Jahan, have turned out to be less than inclined to engage in politics that won’t directly affect the Miran route, but are more than willing to close the portals to the Consortium between Kua and Altai if their sovereignty isn’t recognized. The Rimward Reach swarms, represented by Urcia Kabu, have witnessed first-hand how the Zenithians in the Consortium can affect whole systems with their insidious schemes. They say the time has come to mobilize the fleet unless the Federation is invited into the Council of Factions.
The envoy for the Housyan line, Qur Farabi the Blind, seeks the aid of the Free League to set up trade agreements with the Consortium. Moreover, they advocate that the nomads should approach the other cultures of the Horizon through education and compassion. Whose voice is the loudest at any given time could be hard to discern for an outsider. The nomads are also
troubled by language confusion within the faction.
SUPPORT AT THE COUNCIL
The so-called “nomad question” has become increasingly inflamed, largely due to the Emissary being offered a seat as observer on the Council of Factions, something the nomads have never even been close to. The Nomad Federation has many allies among the Firstcome factions, who think that the Federation should have been on the Council since its inception.
Ahlam’s Temple and the Draconites support the Federation’s claims. These two factions have enjoyed good trade with the nomads for a long time. Not all Firstcome factions feel the same way about the nomads, however. The Order of the Pariah and the Federation are not officially speaking to each other after the attack on the nomad Tanziamat clan on Zalos-B.
The Zenithian factions are not happy with the Federation’s new demands. The Consortium and, to some extent, the Free League, both trade oriented groups, are suspicious towards these potential competitors, and the Legion is uneasy with the Federation’s naval strength. The Zenithian Hegemony has yet to air an opinion either way about the nomads. Politics
is a game of shah, after all.
THE MIGHTY FLEET
The Nomad Federation controls the by far the largest fleet in the Horizon, although a great part of it consists of civilian ships and it is spread over many systems. Recent reports suggest that the nomads have begun forming larger armed convoys.
Suhaima Taslim spoke with force on a Bulletin show, saying that if the militarization of the nomad fleet continues, the Legion will have to respond. Goharshûd countered, saying that more corsairs are stalking the nomad routes than before because the Consortium’s bulk haulers have begun reaching the poorer systems where they drive out the local traders, forcing ordinary people to turn to piracy. The relations between the Federation and the Legion have since then been frosty, to say the least.
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