Saious Nicollier and the Intercolonial Committee of the Blue Star

[Inuk]

The Intercolonial Committee of the Blue Star, ICBS

Important dates:
814 – War between Kusari and Bretonia begins
817 – Liberty declares war on Rheinland
817 – Gallia attacks Kusari and Bretonia
822 – Rheinland – Liberty war ends
822 – Gallia clashes with Liberty

Coming from a stable Zoner family in safe Gran Canaria, Saious Nicollier’s family was able to place him through a solid education during his teenage years. He earned his first University degree in Intercolonial Affairs on the planet Cambridge and his second in Peace and Conflict studies from the planet New Berlin. This was before the intercolonial wars that would ravage Sirius for years to come.

With 25 Saious was able to use his network of professional contacts and experiences to secure a job at a highly regarded research institution in New Berlin specializing in Security and Peace-building. A few standard months later war broke out between the houses of Kusari and Bretonia. The year was 814 and the conflict seemed distant from the offices on New Berlin. For two short years this institution researched, theorized, and tried to understand and explain the war on the other side of the Sirius Sector. And on the third year Liberty declared war on Rheinland. The year was 817.

While the military machine of Rheinland mobilized, life on planet New Berlin, and Rheinland, changed. Financing came flowing in for the institution in an effort to understand the two wars covering Sirius. This included funding for ships to travel in an effort to gain a first-hand understanding of the war.

It was on one of these trips that life changed for Saious. A small group of five flew from New Berlin on a Spatial-class vessel towards the front between Liberty and Rheinland. The intention was to speak with military and civilian personnel on both sides of the front in order to understand what each side thinks of the other with the objective of finding a diplomatic end to the war.

On this fateful voyage to the Hudson system a large-scale engagement broke out between the navies of Liberty and Rheinland. Civilian ships scrambled to leave the fight. The small group of researchers stood in awe at the destruction they were witnessing from the view-port. Projectiles, explosions, ships being torn apart, human beings being sent into the frozen depths of space. It was one thing to read and write about war, it was another to witness it. And on the route back to New Berlin, in the background of the vicious battle, the blue star of the Hudson system shone brightly as always, indicative of a bright future, or so Saious hoped.

The appearance of the house Gallia worsened the tensions in Sirius. At this point Saious took the decision to leave the research institution, to leave the safety of his office, and head for the front lines in order to help the pilots and soldiers who were suffering the most. After selling his small comfortable flat on New Berlin, after spending most of his savings, and with some help from his family back on New Canaria, Saious purchased that same Spatial from the institution and flew back towards the border systems of Rheinland and Liberty.

Along with other volunteers they provided emergency relief for pilots trapped in ships abandoned by their factions. They helped reconstruction on planets affected by the conflict in space. They gave medical aid to soldiers and ensured they found their ways back to their families. And thanks to the reputation Saious was able to grow during his career, he was trusted by officers on both sides of the conflict which allowed him to organize prisoner exchanges, diplomatic meetings, and even temporary seize-fires. His status as a Zoner granted him access to areas citizens of other houses are barred from.

It was during this time in 818 that Saious founded the Intercolonial Committee of the Blue Star, the ICBS; a humanitarian organization dedicated to the alleviation of human suffering, to the protection of life and health, to upholding human dignity during times of conflict and other emergencies, and to the assistance of diplomatic resolutions to armed conflicts.

Since the founding of the ICBS in 818, the organization has struggled to make a large impact. A lack of funding and a short supply of volunteers, due to the hazards of the work, made success uncommon. Private ships were used on missions and personal resources spent. The institution which Saious left, in addition to other private groups, provided some funding which allowed the ICBS to survive to this day, to 822.

With the end of hostilities between Rheinland and Liberty life for many began to revert to normal. However the war between Bretonia, Kusari, and Gallia was not over and only getting worse. It was also on the other side of the Sirius sector. It was time for the ICBS to expand and to reach the people in need, both military and civilian, everywhere in Sirius.

---

The Intercolonial Committee of the Blue Star, ICBS