Joiners
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Joiners | |
|---|---|
| Organization Profile | |
| Type | Political Group |
| Founded | 3151 |
| Parent Organization | Rasalhague Dominion |
Joiners were the denizens of the Rasalhague Dominion who believed their nation should join the Third Star League founded by ilKhan Alaric Ward in 3151.
History[edit]
After Clan Wolf's victory in the IlClan Trial on Terra, Rasalhague's Unity Council began organizing a previously agreed upon plebiscite on the question of whether the Dominion would submit to the new ilKhan. As rancorous debate fired up divisions across the Dominion, those who strongly believed the Dominion should join the Star League became known as 'Joiners', bitterly opposed to the anti-Star League 'Deniers'.[1]
Their motives were varied. Joiners of Clan heritage saw this as their peoples' destiny, while others like the Freeminders felt that, given the Dominion's proven success in melding peoples of differing heritages, joining the Star League was the logical and proper culmination of that process. Dominion citizens of Draconis Combine origin viewed the Star League as a chance to better their circumstances after suffering discrimination from the Rasalhagian majority. With varied reasons and spread across multiple worlds, the Joiners were not one unified faction but a collective of differing peoples supporting the same future for their nation.[1]
By the end of July 3151, when the result of the plebiscite became known, the Joiners rejoiced in their victory, notwithstanding that they had won by the slimmest of margins. Grandiose visions of a new dawn for the Dominion were bruited about; especially popular was an invasion by the new Star League's member Clans of Rasalhague's historic foe, the Draconis Combine. Others hoped for a return to the old Clan ways, an improvement in the fortunes of the nation's minority groups, or war profiteering from expanding the Dominion's borders.[2]
These hopes were shattered in August when ilKhan Ward publicly rejected the vote's outcome; if the Dominion wished to join the new Star League, then more than just over half of the populace needed to be committed to it. Furious Joiners soon blamed the Deniers and violence exploded both within the military and among the civilian population as members of both factions attacked the opposition in what would become known as the Dominion Civil War.[3]
After several months of fighting, pro-Joiner Prince Hjalmer Miraborg finally managed to patch over the Denier-Joiner divide in mid-3152 when he authorized an invasion of the Draconis Combine. All but the most hardcore Joiners rallied to the cause alongside the Deniers, though whether the truce would be permanent was an open question. The wind taken out of their sails, the remaining true believers in the Joiner cause set about rallying support before the next plebiscite.[4] [5]