Gashikan Sector Overview

     Anti-Vargr attitudes are endemic to Gashikan sector, dating back
     to before the fall of the Ziru Sirka by the Terran Confederation
     and the formation of the Rule of Man.

     Gashikan sector has given its name to three Empires.  The First
     Empire of Gashikan was formed in about -2400, when Vargr, who
     had obtained jump drive from the Vilani in Corridor and Windhorn,
     began coming around the coreward end of the Windhorn Rift and
     entering the area beyond the Vilani frontier.  This Empire was
     more of a protective organization, with loose ties between its
     worlds; more was not needed, as the Vargr were not operating in
     a broadly organized manner.  Trade with the independent Human
     and Vargr worlds in the region was extensive, as was trade with
     the Ziru Sirka to rimward.  The native Yileans of Gashikan itself
     were the driving force behind the Empire, which collapsed shortly
     after the collapse of the Rule of Man removed the primary 
     stabilizing influence in the area.

     The Vargr population of the area saw an upsurge at this time,
     and with it came a similar increase in raider and corsair
     activity.  This led to strained relations between Human and
     Vargr communities, and low-level wars were not uncommon.  Vargr
     not involved in raiding were often seen as an exploitable
     resource, and Vargr serfdom, peonage, and slavery appeared
     and began to spread.

     Tensions exploded in -1658 when a Vargr raid on Gashikan ended
     in a global holocaust as the raiders used nuclear weapons
     to virtually destroy the planetary civilization.  The Human
     view of Vargr immediately changed from "exploitable resource" to
     "danger to be exterminated", and a centuries-long campaign of
     attempted genocide began.  

     The Sack of Gashikan also caused many Human worlds to band
     together in protective alliances, and in -1646, many of these
     alliances consolidated into the Second Empire of Gashikan.

     The Empire embarked on a number of projects designed to end the
     Vargr menace; the most notable of these was Project Wolvesbane, 
     begun in the -1400s, which was an attempt to develop biological 
     weapons that would kill Vargr without harming humans.  The
     release of Wolvesbane in -1427 fell short of its goals due to
     heroic efforts by individual Vargr, but Gashikan sector was 
     rendered almost totally free of Vargr.

     The conflict continued until about -1000, with a gradual change
     in attitude.  Vengeful humans would still kill Vargr, but it
     became increasingly common on many worlds to enslave them.
     A major exception to this trend was the formation of the Legion
     of Breskain, an order of Knighthood based on Gashikan and 
     dedicated to the extermination of all Vargr.  While not the first
     such organization, the Legion was the best-organized and had
     access to greater resources, and it rapidly absorbed the other
     organizations.  Today, the Legion of Breskain maintains its
     purpose, although it is no longer under the control of the
     Empire or of Gashikan; rather, it acts as a mercantile and 
     mercenary operation, providing resources and assistance to
     any organization in conflict with the Vargr.

     Vargr slavery rapidly became one of the most important industries
     in the region, reaching its peak in -300.  After that, it began
     a long decline, with further Vargr immigration and the occasional
     emancipation.  By the time of the founding of the Third Imperium,
     it was still quite important in the Empire, but stagnation was
     beginning to set in, in contrast to the dynamism of the Julian
     Protectorate, where Human-Vargr cooperation was on the rise.

     By the late 900s, the Empire's technological progress, never much
     more than anemic at best, had stopped, and was showing signs of
     reversing.  Internal tensions over differing policies toward Vargr
     and other causes grew, and in 1070 shattered the Empire in civil
     war.
    
     A group of relatively strong planets in Trenchans sector embarked
     on a plan of reconquest, and by 1078 had recaptured much of the
     rimward portions of the former Empire, incorporating it into the
     Third Empire of Gashikan.  Many planets on or near the Mendan Main
     elected instead to join the Julian Protectorate; the prosperity
     that seemed to go along with improved Human-Vargr interaction
     appeared difficult to resist on worlds which had experienced
     little of the raiding and corsair activity that had so inflamed
     the coreward regions.  The Empire and the Protectorate are in a
     technical state of war, but military activity is generally limited
     to occasional Gashikan raids that are easily repulsed by the Star
     Legion.  It is believed, but not proven, that the Protectorate
     Member State of Rar Erral (Wolves' Warren) has been carrying out
     raids on Gashikan worlds in Trenchans sector, in spite of protests
     from other members of the Protectorate.

     Today, in the Third Empire of Gashikan, Vargr slavery is still
     common, especially in the coreward areas and in most of Trenchans
     sector.  On Gashikan itself, Vargr are subject to immediate and
     summary execution; elsewhere in the rimward sections of the
     sector, Vargr segregation, serfdom, and peonage are more common
     than outright Vargr slavery, although the latter is far from
     unknown.