Hot Spot: The Terran Province of Dieron

(The Holdfast Province)

A region heavily influenced by its relationship with the Draconis Combine. Many of the worlds that now compose this Province chose to join the Terran Hegemony following the fall of the Ozawa Mercantile Association after a diplomatic bombshell exposed Shiro Kurita’s double cross of the worlds Dieron and Altair. Since the dishonorable actions of Shiro, Dieron has never forgotten and never forgiven the Combine for its now legendary betrayal centuries ago. Fighting around the region during the Age of War further cemented the area’s now-dominant martial philosophy. Evidence of military stockpiling continued even during the relatively peaceful era of the Star League, and can be seen even today in the sheer number of fortifications located within the Province. Despite, or perhaps because of their constant state of alertness, the region was taken completely by surprise when Amaris staged his coup. Despite the Usurper’s brutal and horrific takeover of the Terran Hegemony, the people of Dieron never stopped fighting until the Terran nation was liberated. Since the liberation the Province has rushed to rebuild its defenses more in psychological paranoia then to blunt a new aggressor. The people of the Dieron Province still bear many of the scars left by the Usurper, but they also remain among the new Republic’s most patriotic citizens. As the possibility of hostilities between the nascent Terran Republic and House Kurita continue to grow, so does the pathological strengthening of the districts defenses.

Every aspect of Dieron’s socio-industrial development has been influenced by the Province’s martial psychological bent. The region’s scientific community exemplifies this military commitment. While significantly damaged in the Amaris Coup the technological and scientific community of the Province is still relatively high as compared to other ravaged Republic Provinces, like Terra, which left the region quickly able to devote its energies to rebuilding. However, research into defense projects has stalled the Dieron Province from realizing its full potential in the Republic. Prioritizing the reconstruction of military assets immediately following the Coup has not assisted matters either. As a result, the region’s commercial trade has suffered. The Province’s drive to be entirely self-reliant and powerful is a strong push in this proud region, which devotes all of its significant energy to national security. Also, given the close proximity of the Draconis Combine as the Province’s closest physical trading partner, the region’s people have been loath to develop stronger trade alliances. As a result this Province ranks last in generating commerce. Additionally, give the region’s long history of border raids and clashes the region has a plethora of undeveloped and unexploited natural resources that have largely been neglected. The national and regional governments of the Province realized this pattern of neglect ages ago and have spent monies of their own in exploitation projects to help take advantage of these natural resources. To support the region’s ongoing defense efforts, the people of Dieron have always zealously supplied ample resources to developing the military-industrial sect. Today the Province has an excellent industrial base specifically devoted to the military sector. The defense industry has greatly benefited the Province’s security and is widely recognized as vital to Dieron’s continued survival. Consequently most of the region’s continued economic investment tends to go directly to the defense industry rather than new areas of possible development. Agriculturally the Province is marginally self-sufficient, with worlds supplying excess produce to less fortunate worlds in the region.

“There is no more patriotic Terran than a citizen of the Dieron Province.” A recent statement by Premier Isu accurately describes the staunch loyalty of the Dieronese to the New Republic. Generally conservative in the arena of politics, the people have vocally backed the government’s current isolationist stance and its strict neutrality in any foreign conflict to come. The region’s historic enmity with the Draconis Combine has fueled these beliefs somewhat but not entirely. Many pundits responding to an apparent rumor were stunned by Dieron’s direct opposition to an alliance with Kurita’s powerful neighbors. While the Province may one day enjoy seeing the Dragon on its knees it recognizes that the other Great Houses would surely continue to fight on, possibly even attacking Terra in hopes of becoming the next First Lord of a renewed Star League. In any event, the outer borders of the Province have remained unchanged as a result of the Centuran Accords and the Combine’s abandonment of those important interstellar talks. Despite the resolutions created by the Accords, House Kurita still retains two Republic worlds through blatant military occupation. These belligerent actions have only continued to cement the region’s intense hatred of the Draconis Combine.

 

While the predominant cultural influence of the Province remains largely Western (European and North American) it does not represent the majority of peoples who make up the native populace of the province. The Holdfast Province’s population of Asian (predominately Japanese) and Greek peoples account for a large slice of Dieron’s cultural composition. Many individuals (mainly Asian) who came to this region during the Star League-era returned to the Draconis Combine rather than face tremendous adversity of rebuilding their homes following the Coup. While House Kurita has played up this fact in its propaganda, many battered citizens have remained with Dieron and are solidly behind the new Terran Republic. Although this demographic shift in the Province has tremendously helped reduce the total population, the change is especially apparent in the Province’s language demographic. Where the Japanese language once rivaled English, it has fallen off markedly. Even so, Japanese remains the second tongue of Dieron followed by Greek. Christianity, split between Catholic and Orthodox dominations, is the largest religion in the area by far, with Buddhism placing a distant second followed by Islam. Even Judaism has a small, but strong following in the province, despite tremendous losses sustained during the Amaris Coup. In these troubled times many are returning to the faiths of their forefathers.