Hapan

"Never let a man become so deluded as to believe that he is the intellectual equal of a woman. It only leads him to evil."

- Hapan saying

Hapans were the near-Human natives of the Hapes Cluster, a closely packed star cluster located in the Inner Rim of the galaxy. They differed from baseline Human stock in a number of ways, most notably in that they possessed poor night vision and were considered to be, on average, more attractive than the typical Human standard for beauty. Due to the Transitory Mists that surround the Hapes Cluster, the Hapans were isolated from the rest of the galaxy both culturally and genetically.

Because most of the male population, which made up the Lorell Raiders pirate gang, was largely wiped out by the Jedi around 4,000 BBY, the Hapans adopted a matriarchal society and were ruled by a Queen Mother. The first Queen Mother closed the borders of the Hapes Cluster to the galaxy at large, which resulted in the Hapans dealing with intruders swiftly and lethally. Over the years, interaction between Hapans and the rest of the Galaxy was extremely limited, due to their enforced isolation. However, in 8 ABY, the Hapans opened their borders to the rest of the Galaxy. After this it was much easier to spot a Hapan than it had been in the past.

Biology and appearance
"Hapans are beautiful, but they can't see in the dark."

- Common proverb

Hapans were biologically similar to baseline Humans; however, they possessed some key differences, the most prominent of which was that they were selectively bred over many generations to be beautiful. This was due to the fact that in 4000 BBY, the pirates that originally ruled the Hapes Cluster captured and mated with the more attractive of the Human women they captured. Due to the isolation of the sixty-three inhabited worlds that made up their home, the whole population eventually became beautiful due to the limited gene pool.

Another trait that Hapans possessed was their night blindness. Because of the perpetual daylight of Hapes and other planets in the Cluster due to the density of stars in the region, the Hapans have lost all ability to see in the dark, and were nearly blind even in dim lighting.

Origins
"The Hapes cluster was originally settled by pirates, a group called the Lorell Raiders. For hundreds of years they stalked the trade routes of the Old Republic, seizing ships, stealing cargo. And when they found a beautiful woman, some raider would take her as a prize to the hidden worlds of Hapes. In short, Han, the raiders were your kind of people."

- Leia Organa to Han Solo

Hapans were the descendants of the Lorell Raiders, a group of pirates who had found routes through the Transitory Mists and used the Hapes Cluster as their base. The Lorell Raiders, along with any other treasure they would plunder, would abduct beautiful Human women from all over the Galaxy and bring them back to Hapes. The women would stay on Hapes and raise their children. The Lorell Raiders would take boys and make the raids only to return to Hapes to rest. Around 4050 BBY, however, the mostly male Lorell Raiders were devastated by the Jedi when they ventured out into Galactic Republic space. Hapes was forgotten, and the women left behind took control and vowed that a man will never rule them again. They formed the Hapan society, with a Queen Mother at its head. Around 3100 BBY, a Queen Mother sealed the borders to the newly created Hapes Consortium from the rest of the Galaxy, ordered the starship Star Home to be constructed, and quickly captured many more planets for the Hapans to colonize. Information on Hapan history between 3,000 BBY and 8 ABY was very hard to come by, but what was found was that sometime in the distant past, several members of the Hapes Consortium tried to secede from the influence of Hapes, but were quickly crushed. Those worlds became known as the Rifle Worlds, and eventually they became the commerce base of the Consortium.

Reign of the Empire
"The Hapans have kept closed borders for over three thousand years. I've seen firsthand what happens when you get too close to them. Believe me, they're hiding something."

- Han Solo

Shortly before the Great Jedi Purge and the rise of the Galactic Empire, a Hapan Jedi washout named Sinsor Khal returned to the Hapes Cluster to become a scientist. Due to his failed Jedi status and his location in the Hapes Cluster, he survived the Great Jedi Purge. Later on, he would be banished to a lockdown science lab on Gallinore by Ta'a Chume for cruelty to his subjects, although she would continue to fund his research.

According to one account, the Hapan people were pacifists and diplomats who led with a more peaceful stance. Despite this, there were numerous advocates that desired a stronger military presence, with one of those becoming the future Ta'a Chume. Eventually, the Consortium encountered the Galactic Empire and was said to had fallen to them with some claiming that the actions of pacifists and diplomats nearly ruining the Hapan realm. It is believed that the Hapans were left to their own devices by the Galactic Empire, as no records of any major confrontations between the two parties exist as of yet. However, there were some skirmishes near the border that resulted in the Hapans capturing some Imperial Star Destroyers. Some of these Star Destroyers would be later presented as a gift to Leia Organa and used by the New Republic. During Palpatine's reign, some people believed that he was secretly in love with a Hapan woman.

In 2 ABY, Kalen, the Chume'da (or heir) of the Hapes Consortium, was captured in the Terephon system and killed. Kalen's brother Isolder then went on a two-year undercover quest to find and apprehend the killer. The culprit, a Hapan pirate named Harravan, was eventually found and apprehended, but died mysteriously in jail before he could be questioned. A short time after, Isolder's fiancée, Elliar, was found murdered in one of Hapes's many reflecting pools. As far as it was known, no one was ever charged or questioned in Elliar's death. It would later come out that Ta'a Chume was responsible for arranging the murders of both Elliar and of her own son.

Contact with the New Republic
"Never have the Hapans initiated contact with us on such a grand scale. I suspect that this is to be the most important contact our peoples have made in the past three millennia."

- Chief of State Mon Mothma

In 8 ABY, Princess Leia Organa went to Hapes to discuss with Ta'a Chume a possible alliance with the New Republic. While Organa was there, Isolder fell in love with her, and requested of his mother permission to marry her. Permission was granted, and was made a part of the deal: Hapes would ally with the New Republic if Organa married Isolder. Instead, after an adventure on the planet Dathomir, Isolder proposed marriage to a Dathomiri Witch named Teneniel Djo. Ta'a Chume disapproved of the young Dathomiri, but grudgingly accepted her son's choice of a bride after Djo used the Force on her. Isolder also demanded of his mother that the Consortium join the New Republic, which she agreed to, but eventually did not live up to an effort to preserve internal stability. Also at this time, Dathomir was admitted into the Consortium as the unofficial 64th planet.

Some time later, Ta'a Chume stepped down as Queen Mother, and was replaced by Teneniel Djo. The Consortium stayed out of galactic politics for over a decade and a half, until the advent of the Yuuzhan Vong War. The people rejoiced at the birth of Tenel Ka in 10 ABY, but they would be disappointed in their heir's preference for her mother's culture. Since Tenel Ka had trained to be a Jedi and had no interest in taking over the Hapan throne, the issue of another heir had become a hot topic. To resolve the issue, Isolder and Teneniel tried to have another child. They had succeeded, as Teneniel was in the early stages of pregnancy in this time.

Yuuzhan Vong War
"My friends, the New Republic and the Consortium have never been anything but allies. But I come before you tonight with a request that is sure to test the bonds of that alliance. And in place of gifts I bring only an urgent warning."

- Leia Organa Solo to the Hapes Consortium.

During the Yuuzhan Vong War, Leia Organa Solo once again visited Hapes in 25 ABY to request the assistance of the Hapan Royal Navy in the fight against the Yuuzhan Vong. A vote was made by the planetary delegates, which ended up in a tie. Beed Thane then provoked an honor duel with Isolder, with the winner controlling the tie breaking vote. Isolder defeated Thane, and the navy was dispatched to Fondor, with Isolder himself commanding the Song of War. However, due to Centerpoint Station being misaligned, the beam from that ancient weapon took out three quarters of the Hapan fleet. Due to the Force backlash, Teneniel miscarried and went into a deep depression.

With the Queen Mother incapacitated and Isolder blamed for the loss of many lives at Fondor, the people began calling for stronger leadership. Since Isolder refused to allow Ta'a Chume to reassume the throne, she began a plot to find a new wife for Isolder. In 27 ABY, when the survivors of the Myrkr strike team, among them Tenel Ka, flew to Hapes for refuge, Ta'a Chume saw a younger version of herself in the grieving Jaina Solo and tried to groom her to be the next Queen Mother. Ta'a Chume also put pressure on Isolder to divorce Teneniel and marry Jaina, telling him that unless he did so, or unless she retook the throne, their relatives would kill them all. In an attempt to further her plot and remove what she perceived to be an obstacle, Ta'a Chume also arranged through the Ni'Korish to have Teneniel Djo poisoned. In her semi-coherent state, Teneniel offered no resistance, and died shortly before the Battle of Hapes.

In the aftermath of Teneniel's death, it was Tenel Ka who took up her fallen mother's crown, not because she desired it, but to keep her grandmother and other bloodthirsty relatives from ruling Hapes. Isolder had his mother arrested for her part in his wife's death, and she remained under house arrest for the next nine years. The new Queen Mother revealed Teneniel's legacy: A whole fleet of ships built in secret and hidden in the Transitory Mists, ready to be used in the fight against the Yuuzhan Vong. Tenel Ka placed this fleet under the command of Jagged Fel, a human member of the Chiss fleet, and the Hapan fleet repelled the invaders. Under Tenel Ka's leadership, The Consortium would eventually joined the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances in 28 ABY, and they aided in Alliance campaigns against the Yuuzhan Vong, with the Hapan fleet even participating in the Battle of Yuuzhan'tar.

Dark Nest Crisis
In 35 ABY, Jacen Solo came to Hapes to visit his friend, Queen Mother Tenel Ka, and to ask for her assistance in sending a fleet to defend the Killiks against the Chiss. Tenel Ka granted the request, provided he spend some time with her. Shortly after, she secluded herself for almost a year, and in 36 ABY, Tenel Ka gave birth to Jacen's daughter, whom she named Allana. The identity of Allana's father remained unknown to all except her parents, and Tenel Ka refused to release any holoimages of her.

Shortly after the birth of Allana, Ta'a Chume, who was still under house arrest for the death of Teneniel Djo, arranged a secret meeting with the Dark Nest of Killiks. The two parties brokered a deal: Ta'a Chume would supply the Dark Nest with navicomputer technology in exchange for having them assassinate her newborn great-granddaughter. A week after Allana's birth, Jacen Solo and his younger cousin Ben Skywalker were summoned to Hapes. While the pair were visiting with the Queen Mother and her newborn daughter in a secluded part of Hapes to which only the Queen Mothers had access, the Dark Nest took the opportunity to attack, and Tenel Ka, Allana and Ben were saved from the attack by Jacen Solo. Because of the way the Killiks entered the area via a path only the Queen Mothers knew about, Tenel Ka and Jacen deduced that Ta'a Chume was behind the plot, and Jacen went to confront the former Queen Mother. Once Jacen arrived, a verbal confrontation occurred between the pair, during which Ta'a Chume stated that she refused to let her newborn heir, the child of two Jedi, eventually rule over the Consortium. Jacen deemed Ta'a Chume a threat to the lives of Tenel Ka and Allana, and rendered her catatonic after she confessed that it was she who had arranged for the Dark Nest's attempt on his daughter's life.

A few months later, Queen Mother Tenel Ka was one of many Jedi summoned by Luke Skywalker to a Jedi meeting on Ossus. When everyone had assembled, Skywalker gave an ultimatum that the Jedi Order came first, and that any who could not put the order first was welcome to leave. Tenel Ka went to Skywalker after the meeting and told him that regretfully, she cannot put being a Jedi before being Queen Mother, and offered up her lightsaber. Skywalker told her to keep it, and that there was a place for her in the Order if she ever decided to return. After an awkward meeting with Han and Leia Organa Solo, Tenel Ka went back to Hapes.

Second Galactic Civil War
During the Second Galactic Civil War in 40 ABY, some rogue Hapan nobles calling themselves the Heritage Council got in touch with the Corellian government and hatched a plot to eliminate the pro-Galactic Alliance Queen Mother Tenel Ka and her daughter Allana. After both the Queen Mother and her heir were dead, the rogue Hapan nobles would then align the Hapes Consortium with the Corellians. Knowing that the pro-Corellian Han and Leia Solo were good friends of the Queen Mother, the Corellian leadership used them as dupes and sent them on a fake mission to Hapes in an effort to draw the Queen Mother into a trap laid by the Hapan nobles. After realizing that they were used, the Solos foiled the assassination attempt and decided to spy on the assassin named Nashtah to determine the extent of the conspiracy.

Alerted to the assassination attempt, Queen Mother Tenel Ka contacted Jacen Solo, who was by now the head of the Galactic Alliance Guard, to help in the investigation. In turn he arranged to have both Tenel Ka and their daughter smuggled onto his flagship, the Anakin Solo, to prevent any more attempts on their lives. After it was revealed that the Duchas of AlGray and Galney were part of the rogue Hapan nobles planning to take over Hapes, Tenel Ka left the Anakin Solo to prepare the Royal Navy for battle, but not before giving express instructions that Allana was to remain onboard. Despite the fact that Jacen placed his daughter under a heavy guard, the assassin Nashtah still managed to get through all the security protocols that Jacen had set up and proceeded on her quest to kill Allana. Jacen then proceeded to engage Nashtah in battle, and while the assassin was lying on the ground wounded, Allana injected Nashtah with a sleep stick.

Over Hapes, the battle between the Hapan loyalists and the Heritage Council raged. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but with the aid of the Anakin Solo, the Hapan loyalists were victorious. Jacen Solo was hailed as a hero among the Hapan people, and because of this Tenel Ka briefly considered announcing Allana's paternity to her people. All the captured members of the Heritage Council were given the Queen's Justice and had their titles and holdings stripped from them.

However, Tenel Ka eventually came to realize that Jacen was not the man she once knew. She watched in horror as Jacen, now calling himself Darth Caedus, deemed the Wookiees traitors to the Galactic Alliance for harboring his pro-Corellian parents and set the forests of Kashyyyk ablaze as a form of punishment. Tenel Ka demanded his surrender, but Caedus refused, forcing Tenel Ka to order her fleet to open fire upon the Anakin Solo during the Battle of Kashyyyk. After the battle, she met with Luke Skywalker, the Rock Council, and Admiral Babo of the Confederation, and explained that she was withdrawing support from the Galactic Alliance, but not joining the Confederation. She did, however, join the Wookiees and Jedi in the resistance against Caedus.

Caedus later attempted force Tenel Ka to return to the Alliance by kidnapping Allana and threatening to kill her, but this merely achieved Hapan neutrality. Caedus went to great lengths to hide Allana from members of his own staff, and Allana was homesick. In an effort to calm her down, he informed the homesick girl that he was her father, and that once "all the bad men" are gone, they could live together as father and daughter in peace. Tenel Ka, distraught over losing her daughter, went to Luke Skywalker for help, and he led a strike team to the Anakin Solo in order to rescue her. The operation was a success, with Allana's Solo grandparents discovering their biological connection to the young Hapan heir when they were taking her back to Tenel Ka. Due to this, Tenel Ka let the Jedi Order construct a new temporary base on the Consortium planet Shedu Maad so that the Solos could be closer to Allana.

Legacy
During the Sith–Imperial War and the Second Imperial Civil War that followed, Hapes remained neutral.

Language
The native language of the Hapans was Hapan. The Hapan language developed over the years due to isolation from the rest of the Galaxy, and was spoken throughout the Consortium. Galactic Basic Standard was not commonly known to the average Hapan, but since the opening of the borders in 8 ABY, it became more common.

Government


"Everything you see&mdash;Hapes and its sixty-three worlds&mdash;is yours to command."

- Ta'a Chume to her granddaughter, Tenel Ka

The Hapans were ruled by the Queen Mother from Fountain Palace as part of the Hapes Consortium. The title of Queen Mother was hereditary, passed down from mother to daughter. If the Queen Mother failed to have daughters, the wife of the firstborn son became Queen Mother. However, to be in the line of succession meant both the Queen Mother and her heirs had to avoid constant attempts on their lives by jealous relatives who vied for the throne themselves.

In addition to the Queen Mother, there were also representatives from each Consortium member planet at the Royal Court. Their main purpose was to vote on matters of importance and to give updates on the political and social conditions of their home planets that may require the Queen Mother's attention. The Queen Mother had the final say on everything, and her word was considered law.

Military
"The interior of the cluster is remarkably secure, but we consistently have problems on the rim, no matter how well we patrol. Our encounters on the rim are frequent, and frequently bloody."

- Prince Isolder on the Hapan response to privateer threats

The Hapan Navy consisted of at least sixty-three Hapan Battle Dragons, one for each member world, and were usually backed up by X-wings, Hapes Nova Battle Cruisers, and Miy'til starfighters. During the Post-Imperial period, one of the flagships of the Hapan Fleet, besides the Queen Mother's Star Home, was Isolder's Song of War.

They were noted for being a rich and powerful people that defended their borders with extreme militancy. The main functions of the Hapan Navy were to keep outsiders from entering the Hapes Consortium and to defend the Consortium in times of war. Any unauthorized persons who attempted to enter the Consortium without permission were dealt with in a swift and brutal manner. Other functions of the Navy were as escorts of the royal family when they left Hapes, and for flushing pirates out of the Transitory Mists.

There were also ground-based military units, such as members of the royal guard. Members of the royal guard wore red, and were usually handpicked for their posts. It was considered a great honor to serve the royal family, and people who did were accorded much respect among the populace. Hapans tended to draw their command staffs from the ranks of their own houses.

Amongst this governing body also sat the Hapan Dragoons. An extension of the hand of the Queen mother, a royal guard army for protection of the Queen who held law above all those before the Queen mother. One form of communication was achieved through a staccato rhythm of Hapan military flash code.

Culture
"Never let a man become so deluded as to believe that he is the intellectual equal of a woman! It only leads him to evil."

- Proverb of the women of Hapes

Hapan culture, at least among the upper classes, was based on assassination attempts and struggles for power. Most upper class Hapans would think nothing of arranging the death of one of their own if it would advance their own cause. Ta'a Chume had demonstrated this principle numerous times when she had arranged for the deaths of her elder son, her younger son's fiancé, and her daughter-in-law, and attempted to have her granddaughter and great-granddaughter killed. In addition, there was a class based system within Hapan society. Among the royal family of Hapes, its members did not treat their servants well with women being accorded greater respect than men, industrialists afforded more respect than farmers and finally royalty being given the most respect to all. Thus, the concept of treating one of lower status as an equal was something that was quite foreign to their way of thinking.

The Queen Mother was treated like a goddess by the Hapans, and her selection of a consort was important to all her people. Candidates for the role of consort often came from the nobility, mainly to keep the gene pool vibrant. There were fierce rivalries between many noble houses over which house would get their sons to father the next Queen Mother, and nobles often plotted against both the consort and the heir of the Queen Mother who was not fathered by one of their own. It was because of this that Allana's paternity was kept secret, so all the noble houses would believe that one of their own possibly fathered her and would not harm her.

Due to the matriarchal society of the Hapes Consortium, men were often treated as second class citizens. Although most Hapan males were used mainly for breeding, some held positions of power, although their ability to use it was limited. Some Hapan men who felt trapped by their position in society often ran away and became pirates. These men hid out in the Transitory Mists and preyed on unsuspecting vessels, at least until caught by passing Nova Battle Cruisers. When captured, they would be put on trial, and possibly executed depending on how severe the charge was.

Anti-Jedi sentiment was rife among the Hapans, mainly due to the fact that the Lorell Raiders had fallen to the Jedi. This sentiment came to head during the reign of Ni'Korish, Ta'a Chume's mother. Ni'Korish had an immense hatred of Jedi and had done her best to wipe out any that had made their way into the Consortium. Because of this, an anti-Jedi faction had formed among the Hapans named after her. The faction had come into prominence during the Yuuzhan Vong War, mainly due to the backlash of the Battle of Fondor. Many Hapans who had blamed Teneniel Djo for the disaster at Fondor became members of the Ni'Korish. It was this faction, under the control of Ta'a Chume, that had Teneniel Djo assassinated in 27 ABY. It is not known what the thoughts of the general Hapan public were regarding the new Queen Mother, Tenel Ka, being a member of the Jedi Order. However, there is a hint of greater tolerance towards the Jedi during Tenel Ka's leadership after Jacen Solo saved her from Corellian sympathizers in 40 ABY. The Hapan loyalists highly praised Jacen as a hero for his actions, seemingly an indication of the decrease in anti-Jedi sentiments.

The Hapan people had a deep (some would say neurotically so) love of beauty. If a person, especially the heir to the throne, was blemished or deformed in any way, it was considered a fate worse than death.

Technology
Developed in the isolation of the Hapes Consortium, Hapan technology had advanced in some areas (ion technology) but had lagged seriously behind the rest of the Galaxy in others (turbolaser technology). This was demonstrated best in the Hapan Battle Dragons and the Hapes Nova Battle Cruisers, both of which were limited in their firing rates. However, upgrades provided by the New Republic during the Yuuzhan Vong War improved the already considerable firepower of these vessels. The Hapan Consortium's designs held adequate shielding and hull integrity. However, the use of underpowered fusion generators and antiquated weapon designs meant that their vessels were vulnerable to their Imperial and New Republic counterparts. By the time of the New Republic, a number of Hapan advances were known to had been stolen from Imperial corporations such as Kuat Drive Yards and SoroSuub Corporation.

Their turbolaser technology lagged significantly behind galactic levels with them holding only held one-third the recharge rate when compared to their Imperial equivalent. The Consortium also adopted the use of gravity-well technology that had been developed by the Galactic Empire which was seen in Interdictor class heavy cruisers. A further development by their scientists was the creation of pulse mass mines that were able simulate the mass shadows of planetary bodies.

An example of Hapan innovative technology came from the planet of Charubah. Named the Gun of Command, its purpose was to disable a person's thought processes with an electromagnetic field, making the person temporarily unable to think for themselves. When placed in the wrong hands, the Gun of Command was considered a dangerous weapon indeed. They also made use of small golden shields for their personnel that were capable of forming a personal energy shield thus protecting the wearer from weapon fire.

There were also medical facilities on Hapes that could produce some of the most realistic-looking artificial limbs in the galaxy, and the planet Gallinore housed high-tech laboratories with the most up to date equipment. Ta'a Chume kept some of the Consortium's best scientists here and funded their research, despite the fact that they have committed crimes in the past that resulted in them being banished to the lockdown facility they work in. Gallinore scientists were also quite skilled in the art of bioengineering with skills above those possessed by the New Republic. It was here that Jaina Solo sought out Sinsor Khal to request his help in modifying the signals of Yuuzhan Vong slave implants. Without this research, Hapes might have fallen to the invaders.

Notable Hapans

 * Ni'Korish – Mother of Ta'a Chume, Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium.
 * Ta'a Chume – Former Queen Mother of Hapes Consortium.
 * Kalen – Elder son of Ta'a Chume. Murdered on her orders.
 * Prince Isolder – Younger son of Ta'a Chume, father of Queen Mother Tenel Ka.
 * Astarta – Isolder's bodyguard.
 * Tenel Ka – Queen Mother of Hapes Consortium, former Jedi Knight.
 * Allana – Queen Mother Tenel Ka's daughter.
 * Sinsor Khal – Failed Jedi, later a scientist.
 * Lady Galney – Hapan noble and the aide of Queen Mother Tenel Ka.
 * Trista Zel – Twin sister of Taryn Zel, first cousin of Queen Mother Tenel Ka, Hapan Security agent.
 * Taryn Zel – Twin sister of Trista Zel, first cousin of Queen Mother Tenel Ka, Hapan Security agent.

Behind the scenes
Some sources describe Hapans as Human, and others as near-Human.