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. Hirona is also notable for its sizable population of 'Dragons'; orginally imported as part of a military experiment, a number of the creatures escaped captivity and have taken up residence in the mountains. An organised hunt by the House military could probably wipe out these predators, but most of House nobles agree that they add to the planet's charm, and so long as they confine their feeding to livestock they are left alone.
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.
Around 40 years ago House Machello suffered considerable embarrassment when two of its members, the respected military commander Daryoon Machello and his sister, Chryseis, led an attempted coup against the Emperor. The ramifications of this seemingly mad act of treachery shook the house to the core and have had several long term results. Firstly, many members of House Machello have developed an abiding suspicion of those gifted with psychic abilities. Both Daryoon and Chryseis had been trained at the Imperial School of Psychic Study, and some hold that it was 'dabbling with unnatural abilities' that led the pair into madness.
The other result is that the House has become less willing to take its member's honourable conduct on trust. Daryoon spent years quietly gaining support amongst the House's troops before revealing his hand, indoctrinating the House's elite warriors with his mad beliefs right under the noses of his superiors. To prevent a reoccurence of the disaster, House Machello's security takes an avid interest in the activities of its members. Most House members consider this loss of privacy a small price to pay to ensure the House's reputation will not be brought low.
House Machello is currently led by Januk Albus Machello. A well loved leader he is now approaching his seventieth birthday and many suggest that he is likely to step down soon to allow his son Talin to step into his place. Talin himself seems less than willing to hurry into power; a dedicated chirurgeon he is known to be far more comfortable in a surgery than a council of war. Many in the House would rather that Januk held office until his younger child, Ran, finishes his first tour of duty in the House Navy. Zealous and bold, Ran is a favourite of many who hold that as the strong right hand of the Empire, House Machello should be led by a man of the military, not of medicine.
Geography of the Machello
Hirona - The Machello Capital, a peaceful, somewhat anachronistic, Agri world.
Coruss - A Mining world where General Nibun Albus Machello crushed the 'Three Week Rebellion', several centuries ago. House Machello has relatively few Mining worlds and only bestows them to its most capable administrators.
Dael - One of Machello's many Agri worlds, Dael is notable for its vineyards which are second only to those on House Omar's Besorine.
Mesa - A Death world filled with lethal, carnivorous vegetation. There are believed to be Legacy ruins still hidden in the undergrowth.
Sala - Site of the Grand Library, Sala entertains a constant stream of Technologists and Historicals, and is the home of Machello's finest learning institutions.
Jitta - Saw several incursions from the Hollann Empire during the War. Now it is a major trade hub for trade with the League.
Ektabana - jungle Deathworld where the infamous Daryoon Machello sowed the seeds of his coup. Few visit there now and all that do are closely watched.
Patzok - A volcanic Deathworld; House surveyors have found substantial mineral wealth beneath the planet's crust, but the atmosphere there is simply too dangerous to a establish a mining colony.
Hiratnir - Originally explored by House Omar, it is well known that Hiratnir was exchanged with House Machello for the Agri world of Fileezo. Rumours still persist that the population is seeded with Omar agents