Taung Confederacy

The Taung Confederacy, or TF, was a post Infinite Empire civilization which ruled over most of the Mid Rim, and portions of the Outer Rim and the Core Worlds. The confederacy was ruled by a Mandalore, the supreme commander and administrator of the Taung people. Below him were the Elders. Each Elder was the patriarch of an original Taung clan, and was usuallty a high ranking member of the military as well. The Taung Confederacy was made up of the twenty six original Taung clans. Each of these clans was ruled by an Elder and fifty percent of each clan's manpower had to serve in the Taung Military.

The Taung Empire began when the Infinite Empire retreated from Dxun, and the Taung joined together to build the city of Nadd. Two years later armies of marauding Zhell poured onto the central continent and were finally rebuffed following a great victory. The victor of this battle, Vorduv Rommel, established the title of Mandalore, and became Mandalore the Uniter. The Taung began to conquer the other planets of the Japrael Sector soon after.

Formation
As did the Zhell, the other inhabitants of the jungle moon, Dxun, the Taung migrated from place to place during the years of the Infinite Empire's domination. After the fall of the Infinite Empire they established themselves on the central continent and began construction of their first city, Nadd, on a large island off the coast. Nadd was built usind a greenish colored stone and was the center of economic activity on Dxun. The years after the Taungs' abandonment of their nomadic lifestyle, the first Taung leaders, Elders, had to deal with fires, floods, disease, and civil war.

The first Mandalore was the legendary Vorduv Rommel, the great military genius. When marauding armies of Zhell attempted to capture the new Taung capital, the Taung hunters, under the direction of Mandalore the Uniter, took up their blaster and sniper rifles, and because of their experience and superior discipline easily drove them off. Thus the idea of a united Dxun was born. Once the Taung hunters had tasted victory, the rest was simple. In a series of lightning moves, Mandalore the Uniter consolidated his control over the entire Taung people and over the many Zhell people on Dxun, and established order, peace, and security throughout the entire Japrael Sector.

Conquest of the Japrael Sector
Mandalore had conquered all of Dxun, and Dxun was at peace for the first time in over fifty years. Unfortunately, this peace was not to last long. Three Zhell ships crashed landed on Dxun near the city of Nadd. Mandalore, upon recieving the news, quickly dispatched several squads of scouts to secure the ships. Once the scouts had reported back, he dispatched several engineers with the orders to build as many of the ships as possible. The Taung were on the move.

As the Taung Armada began to near completion, the Taung Crusaders were fully mobilized. Mandalore quickly devised a scheme to conquer the Zhell planets that were controlled from the Zhell capital of Onderon. The Taung armada finally launched and headed to the planet Dxun orbited, Onderon. The Taung numbers blocked out the sun. The Zhell did not have a chance. They were quickly overwhelmed. Iziz fell, and the Zhell garrison, demoralized, was quickly routed.

With Onderon captured, the Taung Armada quickly moved into position and assaulted the planet of Prael. As a punishment, and as a symbol to the Zhell government, every single male Zhell was shot to death by a Taung firing squads. Martial law was declared, and Prael was declared a part of the Taung Confederacy.

Now that Onderon and Prael conquered, the government of the Zhell Battallion was under no illusion to the threat they now faced. They had to win...or risk the extermination of their entire race. The entire Zhell Armada was summoned to the space above the planet. Every Zhell with the ability to fight was mobilized, armed, and stationed around the planet. Mandalore, realizing that the Zhell would be aware of the Taung threat by then, devised a new plan to capture Arca, the final planet controlled by the Zhell Battallion.

Mandalore himself, along with many other Taung Intelligence agents, infiltrated Arca. The Zhell supply lines were disrupted, ammunition depots were destroyed, key political figures were assassinated, and terrorist attacks were perpetrated across Arca. The Zhell were quickly demoralized, and the Taung Armada moved in for the kill. The Zhell Armada was swiftly destroyed, and the Zhell Military was swiftly routed. Mandalore had conquered the entire Japrael Sector, and then, his sights turned to a war being fought out along his border...the Cruentusian War.

Cruentusian War
The Taung Confederacy, which had previously remained unknown to the rest of the galaxy, began to seek an excuse to enter the Cruentusian War after they had conquered the entire Japrael Sector. They found that excuse. A small scout flotilla of the Srav Federation landed on Demos. Despite their technological advances, the Sravs were outnumbered and outmatched, and were gradually defeated, their remnants staging a guerilla war on the Taung. Nonetheless, the Taung eventually claimed victory, and their leader, Mandalore the Uniter, began plans to enter the war proper. Mandalore began to contemplate an official entrance into the Cruentusian War, and based on the weak Srav presence their, and on account of its shipyards, assaulted Sevastopolitan.

After nearly a week of fighting, Sevastopolitan fell to the Taung forces under Mandalore, but elements of the Srav forces continued to fight. Following the introduction of new technology into the Taung military, the Srav forces on Sevastopolitan were completely destroyed, with Mandalore himself killing nearly fifty Srav forces in several small skirmishes.

Military
The Taung were deeply religious and used warfare as a ritual to the gods. Once Mandalore the Uniter came in to power, several things changed. The once sophisticated Taung holy laws were reformed and changed into the Canons of Honor, and war itself became worshipped as a way to glorify the Taung race. Any military campaign they waged was a Crusade as long as it promised holy carnage.

The Taung Crusaders had no written laws, but the rules that did exist were sacred to the Taung people. The most important were the resol'nare. Other rules included the Canons of Honor, which helped warriors to gain honor and glory by fighting in battles and showing their loyalty to their clan. The Taung did not conscript or seek out warriors to join their cause because fifty percent of each clan's manpower had to be devoted to the Crusaders during wartime.

All Taung warriors were self sufficient and competent, and each Crusader was responsible for gathering their own food and supplying themselves. Taung Crusaders used helmet transceivers. Each Taung warrior kept an eye on his men fighting by his side in able to respond when battle situations changed.

The Taung military was divided into four sections: the Taung Crusaders, the Taung Hunters, Taung Intelligence, and the Taung Armada.

Taung Crusaders
The Taung Crusaders were the supreme military power of the Taung Confederacy. No other organized army in the galaxy could match it in combat. The Legion works for the Mandalore, with support from the Skirata and Storm Clan, whichever possessed more power at the time that the Mandalore was killed and a new one had yet to be chosen. In peace time, the Crusaders served as guards, although in war, they have also been used as an invasion force.

In war, the Taung Crusaders was a feared and unstoppable force. Their huge numbers and strict discipline caused even the most battle hardened army to question their tactics. The Gonian Legion attacked just as that: a legion. With wide ranks of hundreds of disciplined soldiers, the Gonian Legion was not a force to be trifled with.

The Taung Crusaders sprang up from the hardy stock of the dangerous jungle moon of Onderon, Dxun, the rugged Taung with their hardy and undiluted blood. Complemented by the Taung Hunters, or Taung Commandos, and the sophistication of the other regions of Dxun, and inspired by the methods and equipment of the Zhell Battallions, the Crusaders became a potent force in galaxy wide affairs during the reign of the first Mandalore, Mandalore the Uniter. Since the conquest of Onderon, the Crusaders in the Taung Confederacy's Territorial Possessions had become a very cosmopolitan organization, made up of both homogeneous occupying units and unique auxillary arms that employ local irregulars as agents.

Taung Intelligence Agency
The Taung Intelligence Agency, or Taung Intelligence as it was more commonly refered to was a Taung organized intelligence group, rising to prominence in the political, economic, and social turmoil during the horrible, bloody Cruentusian War. The Taung Intelligence Agency had existed well before the Taung entrance into the Cruentusian War, but it had hit its peak efficiency and power during and after the Cruentusian War. During its formation, many members were veterans of the Taung Resistance, including members of the Taung military group and supercommando force, the Taung Hunters, who were too old or did not wish to fight on the front lines that had the skills to excel in the galaxy of intelligence gathering. While primarily an intelligence organization, the Taung Intelligence Agency operated across the galaxy in a wide variety of other government approved activites, such as assassination, and bribery.

The Taung Intelligence Agency was one of the four groups that compromised the Taung Military. Though undoubtedly powerful, the Taung Intelligence Agency was first and foremost an intelligence organization and therefore had no military presence in the Taung Confederacy. However, its well armed agents, and stealthy fighters secretly gather information from many planets across the galaxy, such as Sviat, the capital of the Srav Federation. Most Taung Intelligence Agents carried J22 Assault Rifles, and the more experienced agents carried shotguns. Many other Taung Intelligence Agents were equipped with TMT Light Machine Guns, K2 Assault Rifles, Deathrider Sniper Rifles, and Spearhead Missile Launchers. The Taung Intelligence Agency had the lightest ground presence of all the Taung military.

Economy
The Taung Confederacy's economy was almost solely based on trade with other civilizations. The Confederacy maintained its own shipping fleet, while most other galactic powers relied on large freight firms. Major transport and merchant concerns attempted to increase efficiencies, and lobby for favorable legislation and control prices by forming unions. The influence of the Taung Confederacy was sufficient enough to destabilize the entire Japrael Sector, as well as many worlds that they had conquered, after the Cruentusian War.

Slavery
Slavery was practiced by the Taung Confederacy, and this practice even managed to survive the age of the Republic. Slaves were gathered from lawless areas such as the Outer Rim and many slavers even ventured into the Core Worlds hunting for slaves. Another form of slavery practiced by the Taung was to be indentured. Many down on their luck citizens became indentured to their debtors and were forced to work to pay off that debt.

Currency
Only one currency was allowed to be used in the Taung Confederacy. The Taung government produced credits, credit chips, and even credit sticks. These, as well as the more common Taung currency, vedas, could be used to buy and sell across the Taung Confederacy. The vedas were metal coins that were used by many of the Taung. The Taung Confederacy's currency was the most widespread currency in the Outer Rim, which at that time was still mainly part of the Unknown Regions.

Taxation
Under Taung law, only the outsiders, or non Taung, were made to pay taxes. These taxes were collected by the Publicani. The Taung Confederacy also passed tarrifs to tax trade and hyperspace routes. If the Taung Confederacy was in much trouble, and funds needed to be quickly raised the tax would be extended to the Taung, as well as forcing all outsiders to pay fifteen percent more than they had originally been paying. After the Cruentusian War, the tax laws were codified, and were to last until the fall of the Taung Confederacy.

Culture
Taung culture was a very nomadic society. The Taung were nomadic warriors for most of their early history. Many Taung kept to this nomadic culture in case of a sudden attack that the Taung race would live on. Many roads were built on Dxun, but none were straight. They constantly twisted and turned, making it easier for the Taung to ambush their enemies. Tactics such as these helped the Taung race survive for as long as it did.