***********************
1. HISTORY BRIEFING
***********************

15 years have passed after the Kushan killed the Taiidan Emperor finally reaching their homeworld Hiigara. In these 15 years, the surviving Kushan built a new society on Hiigara, originally wakening up the colonists kept in cryogenic sleep. However, these colonist had a rude awakening, as the first thing which became public, was that Kharak, the planet where they left their families and friends, was burned by the Taiidan Imperial Fleet just before the MotherShip left the system. A number of these colonists, called Sleepers, committed suicide. In the meanwhile, the Taiidan Empire was torn apart by internal wars, and only a small number of planets was willing to create a new Empire, this time called the Taiidan Republic, willing to help the Kushan, the original inhabitants of Hiigara, to rebuild their lives. But the Imperial Fleet wanted to rebuild a new Empire and most officers left the Republican army for independent actions against the Hiigarans, with the help of the Turanic raiders, another plague of the universe.

On Hiigara the Kiith built a new Council, to ensure equal rights to every Kiith. Soon the power of the council fell in the hands of the major Kiiths, leaving only a few choices to the smallest ones. One of these Kiith, the Soomtaw, aided by other minor Kiiths, conquered the right to use the orbiting MotherShip, now used as shipyard, for 45 days. Kiith Soomtaw built two vessels, the Faal-Corum and the Kuun-Lan, each nearly as big as the MotherShip. The Soomtaw is a mining Kiith, and these two massive ships were intended as independent vehicles for long-range mining duties. A third vessel, this time a Frigate, the Clee-San, was built for research duties. The Clee-San is currently in the Coruc-Tel System, while the Faal-Corum is on a deep-space mission. You will take command of the Kuun-Lan and its fleet, which are just returning to Hiigara, but...