Thanks guys. We obviously have to alter the events and timeline of course to fit cause some of my settlements are much older than the Southern Cross. Or we could have a few arrive prior to the Southern Cross who might play into their storyline as well. Also are you guys opened to have the Southern Cross conquered by a later group of migrants like Rim Worlds for example then liberated by the Star League who establish the current regime. It might make sense given their location and the technology gap of some new comers. Here are the final three Houses! Enjoy guys. I'll next try to integrate what you like while offering proposals on some other denizens and ideas for the Southern Cross.
House Rashid
Worlds: Dilmun (Hejaz), Evemur (Lorta)
Briefing: While their religion initially forbade space travel the follower of Allah were never ignorant of the stars. In 2441 a noted Arab astronomer, Selim Idrisi, published the New Almagest which used current scientific data to again predict regions of ideal planetary settlements. This not only fueled the Islamic debate over their ban on space travel but set in motions plans to leave Holy Terra. In 2443 when the ban was lifted Idrisi had already begun to gather a large group of Sunni, Azami, Shi’ite & Black Muslims to settle one such region, the Aurelius Star Cluster. Ali Rashid, one of Terra’s wealthiest Muslims, agreed to bankroll the expedition assuring that it was well financed and equipped with many redundant technical systems when it departed in 2445. Arriving one year later at their destination Idrisi assumptions are proven correct when the group arrives above the very habitable world of Dilmun. While their KF Drive systems were damaged in transit this too was anticipated and with the proper complex parts on hand they were able to repair the ships. The Stellar Caliphate and so the first interstellar government of the region was born with each of the four Muslim sects is given a seat on the Ruling Council and Idrisi proclaimed Caliph. Eager to branch out from the others the Azami colonized the moon of Hejaz in the Dilmun system in 2448 taking their first steps in becoming the spacers of the Caliphate. Exploration and colonization continued under Idrisi's guidance at a swift pace discovering many more habitable systems within the Cluster some with settlements already established. In 2451 Shi’ite Muslims under Hasan Safavid colonize the world of Khadijah as their new homeworld while Black Muslims following Malcolm Tabid colonize the world of Evemur as theirs. Two years later Azami colonists would also set up habitable settlements on the moons of Lorta, in the Evemur system, and Jibril, in the Khadijah star system. The first seeds of discord came with the establishment of peaceful contact with Mori and Ravenna whose non-Islamic cultures angered some in the Caliphate. The declaration that the settlements of Aragon and Edinburgh were infidels pleased these hardliners who drafted plans of conquest however dissatisfaction with the liberal Idrisi Caliphs continued to fester. Over time this grew until final the arrival of the Rim Worlders and their allies changed everything. Unable to defeat these new infidels militarily the Caliph who proposed peace with them was undone. While House Rashid did all they could to support their rightful rulers they too were defeated and forced to endure years of subjugation at the hands of the Aurolian Confederacy. Finally after a century of hardship the arrival of Star League forces was the chance the Rashids waited for and they rose up against their oppressors. The establishment of the Cerulean League saw their return to prominence as one of the Royal Houses and strongest supporters of the High Lord.
House Safavid
Worlds: Khadijah (Jibril)
Briefing: Hasan Safavid was the leader of the Shia faction of the Idrisi Expedition who left Earth to escape the clutches of the unbelievers. The dream of a New Pure Mecca among the stars was a powerful one for his followers that seemed delivered in the early years of settlement. The discovery of infidel settlements pre-dating their own was viewed as a test by Safavid who if necessary wished to forcibly indoctrinate them in the ways of Allah. The Caliph's decisions to accept Mori and Ravenna as first friends and then non-Islamic members of the Stellar Caliphate was blasphemy to Hasan. The bitter struggle to subjugate Aragon and Edinburgh to the Muslim way was also born mostly by the Safavids who prosecuted the war with a holy zeal. While the eventually were triumphant their faith in the Idrisi Caliphate was shattered. When the Rim Worlders began to arrive in Cluster and were unable to be driven back by the Caliph who proposed a peaceful coexistence it was the Safavids and their allies who turned on the treasonous Idrisis seizing all of the true Islamic worlds. The Safavids did this to preserve the purity of the Caliphate even though it meant joining the Aurolian Confederacy. Over the next century an uneasy peace settled over the Cluster until the arrival of the Star League. Betrayed from within by the Rashids and overpowered by the new League negotiation was their only option. Confined to their home system the Safavids are a reluctant member of the Cerulean League who continue to struggle for their dream of purity.
House Sheridan
Worlds: Aragon, Edinburgh, Bannockburn
Briefing: The ruling house of the Cerulean League is built upon several different excursions into the Aurolian Star Cluster. The first of these was the DuBois Expedition which was the initial exploratory attempt by humans in this region. Funded by the United States of Europe the fleet arrived in 2127 and was stranded on Aragon perhaps the most habitable world in the Cluster. There this European culture developed for the next three hundred years in isolation going through numerous wars and a scientific dark age. In 2237 a rebel group led by Robert Argyll fleeing Terran military reprisals established the planet of Edinburgh. Both worlds were wrenched out of their seclusion by a Caliphate invasion in 2454. Incredibly some escaped the onslaught and founded Bannockburn during the conquest sheltering a brave few. However even their independence was short lived as the Caliphate subjugated them in 2482 completing their conquest of the Cluster. Further non-Muslim colonization of these worlds occurred by pacifistic refugees fleeing from the Age of War during the Caliphate’s rule. These worlds would change masters again just before the start of the twenty seventh century when the Aurolian Confederacy replaced the Caliphate. While the Victorian Hegemony (House Windsor) and the Aylon Alliance (House Lyons) restored their cultural heritage and relocated Muslims to the Islamic Star Republic (House Safavid) this liberation was hardly benevolent. The Stellar Caliphate had bought science and learning to these backwards people who weren’t in the end forced to accept Islam. While being forced to pay for their religious beliefs wasn’t ideal of course such tolerance by the Caliph was eventually respected. The direct rule of the Windsors and Lyons was for more brutal and ruthless as serfdom/slavery among other barbaric institutions was openly condoned. Thankfully the SLDF arrived offering deliverance from the Confederacy and these three planets became the heart of the new Lord Protectors realm.
