House Machello
Throughout the Empire the Great House Machello enjoys an honourable reputation unmatched by their peers. It is a reputation built on centuries of unquestionable conduct in service to the Empire by the House’s foremost members, as well as a ruthless vetting process that ensures that only those whose behaviour is exemplary are ever officially inducted into the House.
The House capital lies on the Agri World, Hirona, a picturesque planet of rolling plains and vast orchards. With most commerce being handled on off world offices, Hirona is a sanctuary from the complications and endless bureaucracy of modern life, the people there living the simple, structured lives of peasants and nobility.
From an early age scions of House Machello are subject to intense scrutiny from their instructors and their peers. They are often called upon to justify their actions, and even small misdemeanours can be cause for the denial of House membership. As a result many members of the House are rather straight laced, dour individuals; they are often deeply conservative in their actions, preferring to stay with old ways and means rather than risking dishonour through hasty decisions.
Despite this current reputation for conservatism, the history of House Machello is littered with dynamic hero figures: The House’s founder Hiro Machello reportedly saved Emperor Truniss from several assassination attempts, most famously fending off three assassins with only a pair of nail scissors.
General Nibun Albus Machello crushed the ‘Three Week Rebellion’ on the mining planet Coruss, a mere day after responding to early reports of the uprising by landing with only his personal shuttle and its crew of 36. He is further famed for offering to go into exile after mistaking Truniss XII’s quip “What took you so long, Nibun?” as genuine criticism.
Explorer Lorenz Han Machello mounted a risky expedition onto the Death World of Mesa from which he returned alone and less his right arm, but bearing a crystal that opened twenty habitable new worlds to the Truniss Empire
The fall of Emperor Randal Truniss and the ascension of House Lystra to the Imperial Throne hit House Machello hard, and some would say that they have never recovered. Long serving as the capable right hand to the Imperial House, members of Machello long debated the honourable solution to the situation; indeed while the other Houses sought advantage in the wake of the political upheaval, the halls of Hirona reverberated with the sounds of heated arguments. Many argued that the House should have stuck by the Truniss dynasty to the bitter end, and that the House’s honour had been sullied. In the end however, more moderate voices decided the House’s position, and have continued to do so for the past three centuries.
Five years past, radicals in the House had been trumpeting a return to the glory days with the elevation of dynamic Januk Albus Machello to the position of House Leader. This celebration was cut short mere months after Januk took office, a fall from his horse dealing him a head wound which the Chirurgeons have been unable to treat. For the time being Januk’s brother Erle runs the house; a deeply cautious man, Erle’s concentration on small but profitable commercial ventures have led to the bolder members of Machello disparagingly referring to him as ‘the Clerk’.