Bog’Ko’Lif, Capital of the Kingdom of Shish

*Spoilers if you haven’t read Gabatrix: The First Peace* “Of the many worlds of the Yutilians, none have been more mysterious than that of the Kingdom of Shish. While much of their legacy of secrecy has been lost in the last seventy years, the answers we receive only bring more questions….” Yutilian Historian’s quote of the Shish. When it comes to the four Yutilian kingdoms, it’s not surprising that most mysteries remain in one particular group. It was learned that the Shesh was the weakest of the four kingdoms but quickly made up for it in several other advantages. Its history is one that many Itreans struggle to unravel as time continues forth. From recent archives, the history of Bog’Ko’Lif originated as far as 90,000 years ago. A splinter group from the former lost Kingdom of Jesa had left the world into the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy. The majority of Jesa had long been consumed and absorbed into the current Yutilian kingdoms of today. These Yutilian former Jesans had gone to the edge of the galaxy, where it is the darkest and quietest region. All traces of the knowledge of the people had become lost as they disappeared into the unknown. They had gone far beyond known Dead Space and Old Space territories, beyond the outer reaches of all currently explored territories. However, within 70,000 years ago, other Yutilian worlds would often be spooked by unknown vessels that would appear out of nowhere. Further reports of other clan species would report those same disturbances. These vessels would then leave upon being detected without saying anything in response. It’s not a surprise that some had thought that these former Jesans were alien beings that came from some obscure part of the galaxy. Some had even wondered if other clan species or extinct species, such as the Pterians might have returned. Unlike the Pterian or Palieran clan, the unknown vessels were not allied to anyone, nor did they openly engage in hostilities. What the other Itreans didn’t know was that the vanishing race of people was that of the former Jesan population. They had found a world in a red dwarf star system 8,000 light-years from Sol. The Jesans had renamed themselves to that of the “Shesh,” the “silent ones” in the older Itrean language. The Shesh’s goal was to find a world where they would be left alone. They went to such extremes with this belief that they colonized a world located in the far reaches of the star’s orbit. Red Dwarf stars are known for their low luminosity. The planet and colony of Bog’Ko’Lif would become the central hub of activity for the Shesh Yutilians. The world is quite cold as they decided to live on the darker side of the planet, where the tidal lock of the star keeps it on a tight leash. According to sources, the Shesh had become experts on terraforming and devoted their time to make the planet habitable. Oxygen and CO2 emitters were installed to help create a proper atmosphere. The Shesh was successful and formed a religion on the prospect of secrecy. Bog’Ko’Lif had exploded in numbers, and the people would continue to expand to other worlds. The same found principle of remaining hidden from all Itrean eyes was prevalent. They had devoted their technology to stealth craft and were conducting surveillance on other worlds. It was the goal of the Shesh to ensure that any potential enemy wouldn’t come their way. Despite this, the philosophy of finding planets that took time to colonize would greatly slow the growth of the Kingdom of Shesh. Even though the people had found refuge in the darkness, it’s not surprising that it remains the weakest of the Yutilian Kingdoms. However, it was this philosophy that also gave the people strength. Their great efforts in stealth technology were their greatest assets. It was these Yutilians that had learned to survive in the unknown and handle pure darkness. It’s not surprising to some Itreans that the Shesh are those that enjoy total darkness. Their eyesight had been long adapted to handling such extremes, including the cold. Other planets were chosen that had similar properties to Bog’Ko’Lif. The people would further live on the dark side of the planet. Various practices were done that if a wayward Itrean exploratory vessel were to show up, the Shesh would power down the entire cities of planets and go quiet. The same would be said with their vessels that would be undetectable. For the last fifty thousand years, the Yutilians never knew that another kingdom had existed. The Shesh and the planet Bog’Ko’Lif are considered some of the more interesting concepts when it comes to the Jalgren’s attempt to conquer the galaxy. The Aksren emperor was fully aware of the possibility of a secret “kingdom” that was around. However, to conduct such large exploratory missions to find them would be a waste of his resources. He had to commit to taking down the other Yutilian kingdoms that were fully established while fighting off other subspecies in the process. Within eighteen years of his campaign, Jalgren would get the surprise when he almost conquered the Kingdom of Kre. Upon raiding the stronghold of Uio, a fleet of stealth warships attacked his fleets. Taken by pure surprise, Jalgren was forced to retreat and evaluate what had happened. The Shesh had pledged their loyalty to help out the Kre in defending their worlds. It was unknown as to why the Shesh had come out of hiding during Jalgren’s invasions. The most common belief was that the Shesh was becoming afraid of Jalgren’s advances. While they might not have cared about the other Yutilian kingdoms, they knew that Jalgren might have found them in the far future. The Aksren emperor had shown interest in exploration. While his idealism wasn’t known to the Shesh, fear ruled both sides. Despite the great advantage of the Shesh in having stealth warships, the Shesh’s timing in helping the other Yutilian kingdoms came too late. Their fleets were too small and inadequate in properly repelling Jalgren’s advances. They would have had a more advantageous position if they had fought sooner. In the later years, the secret group of people had a lot to debate upon. Even if they had continued to fight, it would have further provoked Jalgren to launch all-out invasions onto Shesh controlled space. Instead, Jalgren had improved his anti-stealth abilities. The Shesh forces began to take heavy losses and eventually withdrew back to their space. Amazingly, Jalgren had managed to salvage the data cores of various Shesh warships to unveil the location of Bog’Ko’Lif. He readied a fleet and traveled to the system to engage the Shesh capital. Instead, the Shesh began negotiations the moment that Jalgren’s forces had entered their system. There was no point in further conflict, and even Jalgren’s reputation of being benevolent towards the defeated had become known to the Shesh. The complete surrender of the Kingdom of Shesh would occur with a number of conditions specified by both parties. Jalgren made his intentions clear that the Shesh would discontinue hostiles and surrender their fleets to him. Their stealth technology would be submitted to him, and Bog’Ko’Lif would serve as a semi-open trade port for Jalgren. Tributes would be offered to him, but in return, the Shesh would be left alone. There would be no exceptions to this rule. This includes the fact that they would still be able to keep their other worlds from being revealed. To the end of Jalgren’s life, he would never find the locations of the other planets of the kingdom. During the Empire of Jalgren, Bog’Ko’Lif would become the central hub of trade for the Shesh. It is clearly argued that the capital’s importance doubled because of the fact that it served as a place of exchange. Liaisons, diplomats, and traders often found the planet to be disturbingly beautiful. While learning the new Itrean language, the culture had felt little impact from the Empire. Essentially, all sides got what they wanted, and Jalgren had little issue with the Shesh. This allowed the people to transit perfectly to the rules of the Itrean empire while going through its cultural changes. Shesh was able to engage in learning about others in return more freely. The Empire of Jalgren wasn’t to last, and within 20,000 years, Bog’Ko’Lif had started to face scrutiny from the imperial regime. It wasn’t uncommon that these forces tried to interrogate, brandish, and look down upon the Shesh as potential traitors. Many feared that the kingdom was ready to plunge a dagger into the Empire of Jalgren when its back was turned. According to most reports, Bog’Ko’Lif was mixed on opinion. Some felt that the need to break off from the empire was needed as they were becoming openly hostile towards its people. Others feared the wrath of the empire. It is believed that the other worlds of Shesh would start to slowly and secretly build a series of new stealth warships to combat the regime. Meanwhile, Bog’Ko’Lif would act as if nothing was happening. The planet’s shipyards were still bustling with the occasional trade ships that come and go. When the Rototrein Rebellion occurred, the Shesh discreetly joined up with Rototrein’s forces, often to Rototrein’s surprise. Even if the fleets were weak, the kingdom made it clear that their privacy was important. In an effort to further the alliance, any advances that they made in stealth technology were shared with Rototrein as a method to show their allegiance and stop the empire for good. The Shesh had gotten their wish, and the Empire of Jalgren would ultimately collapse. The Kingdom of Shesh had almost disappeared from Itrean eyes during the post- imperial years. While many knew of Bog’Ko’Lif, debate raged on the sheer size and power that the Shesh had. The planet was the only known world that they had, and they had managed to keep anything else carefully guarded against potential curious onlookers. While rumors might have spread that they had four to five worlds in total, many of these worlds are very much like Bog’Ko’Lif. They are located at the edge and on small star systems. Instead, the Shesh knew the planet's importance to the outside universe. Discretion was their way of life, but they knew that their capital world still served as a place for distribution and economics. What happened to Bog’Ko’Lif affects other Shesh worlds to various degrees. Free from imperial rule, the Shesh fleets carefully guard the planet. When the Yutilian kingdoms wanted to create an alliance, the Shesh agreed to a similar set of terms as set with Jalgren long ago. They pledged to protect the Yutilian clan from foreign invasion, keep Bog’Ko’Lif as a trade hub, and keep their other worlds away from foreign oversight. By around 4,000 years, the Shesh would continue to provide great stealth advancements to the other kingdoms in exchange for protection from possible invasion from the other clans. It proved to work. Only one attack occurred from an Alara’jal warlord that thought that he could make Bog’Ko’Lif a new outpost for his growing armies. His fleet was completely decimated as stealth warships pummeled his warships to wreckage. By 200 hundred years ago, Bog’Ko’Lif had made the discreet announcement that they had developed cloaking technology. Within years later, this technology was shared with the other Yutilian kingdoms. While expensive and hard to produce, the ability to be rendered invisible from all sensors had put the Shesh into an extreme tactical edge. It’s no surprise that the Shesh’s information gathering abilities on other enemies had increased dramatically. It would help solidify the Yutilian clan in being able to maintain a defensive posture. The capital world would help produce and manufacture these new cloaking warships for the clan to exploit. During the time of the Emphra War, the Shesh was fully aware of the dangers that the alien race had. Obviously, they made great strides to provide and render any available assistance. Cloaking warships, while incredibly effective against the Emphra, suffered in the ability to be built in quantifiable numbers. The Shesh lacked raw stopping power, and they knew that Bog’Ko’Lif and any other of their worlds could be invaded. A major debate erupted on the capital world, and by the end of the 23^rd century, the Shesh would hand over the cloaking technology to the other clan species. This would further allow the Itreans, as a whole, to properly repel the Emphra. The planet would never be touched, however, as the Shesh fleets would play vital roles in providing information and helping destroy vessels of the menace fleets. After the Emphra War, Bog’Ko’Lif would fall into obscurity as most planets would devote their time to repairing the damage incurred by the alien invasion. As a result, the Shesh would remain almost silent during the United Itrean Republic. However, the planet of Bog’Ko’Lif would still remain as the quiet trading post to link up to the other hidden worlds. By the time of the Itrean Civil War, the Shesh would introduce new variants of cloaking battleships to provide for the welfare of the T’rintar clan. It still remains unknown of the other planets of the Shesh. However, what is known is that various reports declare that Zilik’s Disease still had a monumental impact on them. With Bog’Ko’Lif serving as a major trading post, it is highly likely that the disease spread outward to the other planets of the Shesh kingdom. With the Itrean Civil War in full swing, the Shesh once again return to their stealth warships in providing the intelligence and information necessary to eliminate the enemies of the T’rintar clan.