House Vinka
The Time of Ditix
House Ditix was a proud house; family oriented but willing to integrate new talent if the need arose. I say "was" because House Ditix is no more: the Forlox Incident of 583EY caused the Emperor to dissolve the House.
House Ditix was unusual amongst the Noble Houses in that its planets are mostly governed in cooperation with an elected government from the populace. Suffrage is thought to be universal on these worlds, with a voting age of 18. The House still chose the Governors who had ultimate control over the activities of the planets, but expected them to work with the elected bodies to decide planetary policy.
Standing in the House was usually determined by how much support an individual had amongst the populaces that they governed, with Ditix taking the view that the ultimate measure of your honour was the respect of those you were responsible for. This view led to the House being rather smaller than many others as only those who had proven their ability to govern were admitted as a Noble. These views led Misan Ditix to emphatically back Farron Lystra in his revolution as the Emperor had lost the respect of his subjects.
The Forlox Incident
The planet Forlox was one of the major Factory Worlds governed by House Ditix, with major goods produced including planetary shuttles and ship power cores. During one particularly unusual storm, there was a huge explosion at the ship core production plant. The scale of the destruction was so great, they say that the debris cloud could be seen from orbit. The UIC were sent to investigate, along with representatives from the Technologists who confirmed that the plant was meant to be inactive during the week that the explosion occurred.
The investigation wrapped up quickly before the planet's worsening climate made it totally uninhabitable, with almost daily earthquakes in the final week of evacuation. The UIC concluded that House Ditix must have been responsible for the accident, causing some to say privately that the UIC dared not anger the Technologists for fear of the repercussions it may have for the whole Empire. Others, however, agreed that Gyran Ditix must have been conducting some experiments on the factory without the knowledge of the Technologists. No one will really know for sure as he accepted his punishment of the dissolution of his House and his family's exile without comment.
The Rise of Vinka
With the dissolution of the House, Emperor Lystra IV decreed that their governorship should be succeeded by a new House formed by Ingvild Vinka, one of his closest non-House advisors in Court. Vinka was pleased with her appointment and decided to annex rather than replace most of the Ditix administration, reasoning that those who had been responsible for the Forlox incident had been removed already and changing every governor would be unnecessary and unwelcome for those planets affected.
She may yet come to rue that decision, because many former members of House Ditix are still loyal to Gyran. They protest his innocence, working to establish a group within Vinka's house that will hand control back to Ditix if he ever returns. The secret network within the house is a strong asset to those who know of its existance, relaying all kinds of information through unofficial channels.
The House capital remains at Nymek, a Mix World at the centre of Ditix territory. The Governor of Nymek has traditionally been the Head of House, though there are rumors that this may be broken in the near future. In contrast, House Vinka retain the view that great honour comes from effective governance, though they accept that scientific, historical or archaeological endeavour are also honourable pursuits for the Nobility.