What if the Kadeshi survived?

[kucsidaveee]

Just a what if idea that has been nagging my brain for some time, with a semi-believeable scenario to start it off:

“This is the Garden of Kadesh. For thirteen generations we have protected it from the unclean. The Turanic Raiders who came before you refused to join and were punished for this trespass. Like theirs, your ship has already defiled this holy place. If you have come to join we welcome you and will spare your ship until all have disembarked. If you have come to consume the garden you will be removed at once.”
“What are your intentions?”
“We were unaware of the significance of this location. We mean no conflict. Please allow us time to prepare our engines so that we may withdraw as requested.”
“If you will not join, then die. There is no withdrawal from the garden.”
“Understood” The Kushan ambassador corvette replied, to which the Unknown ship stopped, and turned back “We will attempt no withdrawal from the garden. Allow us to open negotiations with your leaders then.”
“There is no negotiation. Join, or die.”
“What you see before you is everything that remains of our race. We are on a journey back to our original homeworld, Hiigara”
“Where did you hear that name?”
“It is on the guidestone that leads to our homeworld, found on the ship that delivered our people to Kharak, our second homeworld. It was called the Khar-Toba” Fleet intelligence replied to the ambassador’s question on an open channel.
“Khar-toba. Another interesting word.” The ambassador replied. “If what you said is true, then maybe we have more in common than you think.”
“What do you mean by that?” Fleet intelligence asked.
“It would be easier to show you. Please take formation around our mothership for Hyperspace jump.
The Kushan had very little trust in this unknown race, but the prospect was enticing to say the least. If following them would let them continue their track to their homeworld in the end, then it was worth a shot. If they didn’t follow them, the Kushan would go into conflict with this race. Enough Kushan have died needlessly on Kharak. It would be foolish to throw more life away for this journey if they could avoid it. And this race seemed at least interested in their origins. Like the Bentusi before, they might provide them aid in their quest.
When they managed to get into formation, with all strike craft docked, a quantum wave form appeared in front of their ships, much like their own. It was actually almost exactly the same as the one they themselves used. The implications of this, with what the unknown race said about more similarities was heading one direction. But it couldn’t be. Could it?
“Welcome to the Cathedral of Kadesh.”
Two more of the unknown motherships came out of Hyperspace next to the Kushan Mothership.
“What are you doing, brothers?” an unknown voice asked on an open channel
“They claim that their race came from Hiigara, leaving it on a ship called Khar-toba.” The ambassador of the Kadeshi have replied
“And you believed them?” The second Kadeshi asked. “This must be a ploy to destroy us all.”
“This is the Kushan mothership.” Fleet intelligence said. “Sending you all data on the guidestone and the Khar-Toba on 3 ambassador corvettes, each heading to one of your ships.”
“Ambassadors away” Fleet command chimed in.
Each ambassador docked with a Kadeshi mothership, and transferred the material they had on the homeworld, as well as any information on Kharak they had.
In return, the Kadeshi gave them datapads of their origins. The data they gave was shocking, to say the least.
It appeared that they came from the same homeworld. The kadeshi were… Kushan.


Two hundred thousand. That is how many Kadeshi there are. If they were considered a Kiith, they would be the most populous one surviving. Even if cut in three, as they seem to be living now, with each mothership serving effectively as their own kiith, each one would be larger than the surviving kiithid with the exceptions of S’jet and Nabaal. But this was the least of the problems.
When the Kadeshi learned how many Kushan there are, panic set in. They couldn’t feed or house this many refugees, leaving them in cryogenic stasis is not an option either, since the energy it requires would tie an entire mothership down. Leaving them in their own ships is a risk, since they could get away any time if they wouldn’t be constantly in a Hyperspace inhibitor field. Just letting them go could lead to the “great enemy” learning about their presence in the Nebula.
Relief came when it turned out that the Kharaki have most likely already fought the great enemy, now known to be called Taiidan, and weren’t on friendly terms with the unclean Turanic Raiders either.
3 hours of intense debate ensued, and a compromise was reached.
The Kushan were let go with the following conditions:
1, Each Kharaki had to swear on Sajuuk himself that they would rather die than reveal the existence of the Kadeshi.
2, The two groups would exchange all technologies they have, leading to increased chances of survival for both groups, though the Kadeshi would benefit more from this.
3, The Kadeshi would be welcomed to the homeworld if the Kushan succeeded in their quest.
4, 10,000 Kadeshi were to join the Kushan to learn of them on the way home, and help their brothers and sisters fight against the Taiidan.

The Kharaki agreed to these terms. The 10,000 extra hands came at a great time, and the 20 multi-beam frigates that came with them were extremely useful. They also received 10 fuel-pods, out of which 8 were filled with Swarmers, 2 Filled with Advanced Swarmers. The Multi-Beam Frigate design was compact and powerful, though lacked bulk and could easily be destroyed. The whole ship seemed to be nothing but 4 ion cannons linked to a power source, engines slapped in the back, and a cockpit on the front. No coolant systems, no FTL, not even life support. The Kadeshi had to wear space suits inside. The Swarmers weren’t much different. They were just as bare-bone as the frigates.
Living conditions would be cramped, but one can tolerate that, and the Kadeshi provided food and water for the new crewmates.
Cultural differences weren’t overwhelmingly great either. Both groups believed in Sajuuk, lived in large families and the two societies were shockingly similar, even with 4000 years of separation.


THE REST OF THE QUEST FOR THE HOMEWORLD GOES ON LARGELY THE SAME. The only difference is that the kushan are a bit more powerful in this quest/have more ships throughout, and are able to produce the Kadeshi ships, though thanks to the ineffectiveness of the swarmers, only the multi-beam frigates are produced, and even those are produced in small numbers for specialized duty.


After the homeworld war the Kadeshi have split in two. A bit more than half of them remained in the nebula together with most of the 9000 survivors of those who went with their brothers, while the remaining 90,000 would leave for the homeworld, to establish themselves as equal to the Kharaki.
They would leave with 1 mothership, crewed by people from all 3 motherships, each contributing equal numbers of everything from engineers to elders.
They would join the Kushan society as Kiith Faakir, Kiith Zahiir, and Kiith Naazir, with promises that those who remained in the nebula would also be considered as part of Kushan society as soon as a secure connection can be accomplished.
As not to overwhelm the Kharaki on their own conquest, the Kadeshi agreed that they would only represent the 90,000 that arrived on the homeworld until the Kharaki have grown in number, but in exchange they would also enjoy certain privileges as to not be overwhelmed themselves.

The Kadeshi were shorter and paler than the Kharaki. The thousands of years without starlight and cramped inside ships definitely had its physiological effects.
But the wonders of Hiigara were breathtaking for both groups.
Kharaki that lived their lives in the harsh deserts stood at awe of the natural beauty of the planet, just as much as the Kadeshi.
The Kharaki came with colonists. People ready to populate a world and establish themselves there, not just a mix of everyone like the Kadeshi, therefore the Kharaki population exploded, leading to the Kadeshi representing those living in the Garden as well within 1 generation.

The three Kadeshi kiith’s youngs were always expected to visit the garden at least once in their childhood, and serve at least one turm in the military stationed at the garden, as despite having their homeworld back, the garden still remained a place of worship for them. It kept their kiiths alive until they could retake their homeworld. The least they could do is to protect it from the unclean for generations to come.

Another point of cooperation was that in honor of the 10,000 Kadeshi that came with the Kushan, it was made law that at least 10,000 Kharaki would always be stationed in the Garden, while 10,000 Kadeshi would serve in the Hiigaran Defense force.

The Kadeshi also started the construction of a fourth mothership, with Hiigaran sponsoring, since one was almost permanently anchored at Hiigara.

Kiith Faakir became historians of the Hiigarans, documenting the days from when they arrived at the garden. They developed a close relation with Kiith S’jet, leading to a prosperous alliance. Faakir provided the S’jet with all data they collected from the ships that entered the Nebula, helping S’jet to fill out the star-charts, and in return the S’jet helped them in developing more efficient swarming methods against each ship type. Methods that were smuggled back to the Nebula under the cover of a S’jet deep space Survey.

Kiith Naazir became technicians, becoming the protectors of Kiith Jaraci, defending the few remaining members of the Kiith from being absorbed into a larger one. This gesture struck the Kharaki Kiithid quite positively, as this showed that even though they were separate for centuries, they could always count on one another and can look towards each other for help in times of need. In response, the Kiith-council declared Naazir to be the first to claim territory outside of Hiigara. This facilitated trust and a sense of Security for both groups.

Kiith Zahiir have become a heavily religious kiith, taking up a role that was very similar to what the Gaalsien held in Kharak, but without the hostility to other kiithid. Their youth were much more religiously raised than other kiithid, primarily held as the Guardians of the Kadeshi ways.
Zahiir also heavily invested in the restoration of pre-exile ruins, and the reconstruction of old temples and places of worship on Hiigara.
They also soon built a new temple for themselves, from where they would leave offerings to Sajuuk and the Kushan gods for sparing their people and providing both Kharak and the Garden for their survival.

During the next few decades, the Garden of Kadesh became an enclave of the Hiigaran empire, with chances of establishing a permanent connection being slim for the time being.
The Kadeshi served as a dedicated defense force around Hiigara, and mostly the Kharaki Mothership, and therefore saw very little action.
With the Hyperspace inhibitor in the Kadeshi Mothership, the Kharaki Mothership, now serving as an anchored shipyard, became too secure to be attacked by anyone.
Even if someone would dare to initiate an offensive, they would have to do so by arriving outside the field and moving into attack range sublight speed, giving time to the defenders to organize and call for reinforcements.
The other option was arriving within the field, most possibly damaging the arriving ships prior to engaging, and being open to attacks from the kushan strike craft while launching their own.
Both would lead to way too many casualties to be a strategically sound decision.

The Multi-beam technology was also shared. Kiith Naazir with Kiith Somtaaw and Paktu, have started a joint development project of a new Multi-Beam frigate that would include life support and FTL.
The result was the Dervish-Class Multi-Beam frigate, though thanks to the Shipyard’s tight schedule and production lines being occupied by true and tested ships, the Dervish would be put on retainer.

Another piece of technology that started to spread was food replicators. The kadeshi, due to lacking a planet to cultivate, had to work out a new way to acquire food. Of course destroying any transport ship that entered the nebula and plundering their supplies from the wrecks was one way of getting food, but a more permanent solution had to be found.
The food replicator was the breakthrough they required. It was capable of breaking down any biological material and repurpose it to create new protein and other sources of sustenance. Of course the end product had a horrible taste that even the Kadeshi avoided if any other source of food was available, but it kept their civilization alive during times of need.
With a galaxy where famine was spreading thanks to the status quo of the Taiidan Empire breaking, old hostilities returning and skirmishes disrupting long established supply lines, the replicators were sold to many races throughout the galaxy.
Of course, the Taiidan Republic being the first to receive it, free of charge as a symbol of friendship between the two fledgeling governments.


The presence of the Kadeshi mothership and forces didn’t help when the Taiidan Imperialists assaulted Hiigara, since the shipyard itself was too far from combat to help in any meaningful way, and the Kadeshi mothership’s inhibitor field was too valuable to either risk in combat or to leave the shipyard. Luckily the forces Kiith Nabaal, Manaan, S’jet and Kaalel were able to repel the invaders. Of course they forget to mention a certain Kiith that managed to secure a gap in the defenses.


When Kiith Somtaaw encountered a biomechanical virus, the crew of the Kuun-Lan would dust off the Dervish’s blueprints and would start production of the vessel in order to try and contain the threat.
The ship served them well in their hour of need, leading to the destruction of the Naggarok, and helped Somtaaw’s rise as Beast Hunters.

After the Rise of Somtaaw and the defeat of the Beast, the Kadeshi kiithid became more involved in Galactic politics, doing everything in their power to ensure that the great nebula would remain forbidden for space travel, and the existence of the Kadeshi there to be kept a secret.

With the losses of the Taiidan Republic during the beast wars, they would be put on the back foot. Their forces depleted, their largest shipyard destroyed together with their largest project to date, and not much chance of peace with the imperialists, they reached out to their most loyal ally, Hiigara.
Hiigara answered the call, and the Kadeshi helped by transferring them their Hyperspace inhibitor tech. The Taiidan had a tech like this, but it was much larger. They never thought that it could be fitted to a ship that size.
With the technology, they started construction of a new flagship, with the Inhibitor built into it, giving birth to the 1st Republican Roaming Fleet, which made sure that no Imperialist ship could run away from it. With Imperialist casualties mounting from both being unable to retreat from failed incursions and defections to the republic due to this fact, raids on both Hiigara and Taiidan have slowed down, giving a much needed breather to both governments.
The Republic’s borders have solidified and a new fortress world line was created in order to defend their small region of space within 10 years. It was followed by an expansionary period, liberating multiple worlds from Imperialist rule.

A new Hyperspace Inhibitor network was also established around the planet of Taiidan, securing the republic’s capital, though it would never see the same security Hiigara saw during the empire’s reign.

In the meantime, the Hiigarans expanded their New empire as well. (mostly to the extent of what they had in HW2, but with small enclaves dotted in the great wasteland and around what was supernova station in order to try and rejoin with their brothers in the Kadeshi nebula)

In the next decade, a permanent connection was established with the Great Nebula, reconnecting the Garden of Kadesh to the rest of Hiigaran society. This meant that ships and resources that had to be snuck into the garden for decades, could now travel freely. This of course meant that it could attract some attention from the Galactic Council, but the Hiigarans were able to keep it a secret from everyone, except the Benthusi.
When they confronted the Hiigarans about it, the three Kadeshi Kiith met to discuss what they should do. In a two to one vote, with Kiith Faakir and Kiith Naazir in favor of, while Kiith Zaahir against, they revealed their existence within the nebula, and history after the exile from Hiigara.
The Benthusi, understanding their situation, promised to keep the secret until the Hiigarans were ready to reveal it themselves.


During the 75th anniversary of the landing on Hiigara, the existence of the Kadeshi were revealed to the galaxy at large. There was an outrage first, but with the reveal of where the Taiidan Republic’s inhibitor tech came from, together with the Multi Beam technology, that was spreading throughout the galaxy, not to mention the artificial food replicating units that kept the galaxy fed for the last decade, the galaxy accepted the Kadeshi, although begrudgingly.

With the Garden’s proximity to Kharak, it was chosen to be the rally point out of which the return to Kharak would start from.
With almost 100 years since the burning, Kharak’s surface was once again ready to support life. When the Kharaki have returned, they even found some of Kharak’s original flora and fauna survived the ADWs, mostly in caves underground and the great Banded desert.
There was immediate effort to restore the planet, with the surviving animals and plants put immediately as the primary focus.

When Makaan rose to power, the Hiigaran empire came under heavy attack. Although the presence of Hiigaran forces was great, the Vaygr were much more numerous, and ruthless.
Hiigara itself came under siege, and a new mothership was barely completed in Tanis station before the Vaygr attacked.

Hiigaran forces in the Kadeshi nebula were successful in holding back incoming Vaygr forces. Whoever entered the Nebula had just vanished. The new swarmer design that was being tested proved itself effective in short range engagements, with minimal losses.
It was much sturdier than the design used during the Homeworld war, yet just as fast and deadly. It would be useless anywhere, but the nebula itself, but that was all they had to protect. 5 squadrons of 7 craft were deployed, but they only lost 2 swarmers during the invasion. Thanks to this, mass production was approved and began within 1 year after Makaan’s death.

With the opening of Hyperspace gates and travel times being much faster, the restoration of Kharak kicked into high gear together with exploration.
Within 10 years after the war, Kharak was almost completely restored to its pre-burning condition, with plans on repopulation within 100 years.
Water was also sourced to the planet from asteroids and comets throughout the galaxy, cleared then released on the southern pole of the planet, refilling the Majiirian sea.
Without the fear of losing all technologies, the planet's magnetic field was reinforced by EMP detonations and without fear of earthquakes ruining cities, tectonic movements kickstarted back up with targeted detonations near the core.

The Khar-toba have largely survived the burning thanks to the sand. It was a bit scorched, and melted glass covered the inside, but the hull itself held firm.
Excavation projects have also uncovered the ruins of Tiir, Epsylon and Juno Bases. A lot of data that was considered lost to the Hiigarans were recovered both about their exact history, and forgotten aspects of their religion.

The buried ruins of Saju-ka were also found with many Gaalsien relics still intact.
With the Gaalsien now extinct, these relics were transported to Hiigara, and were digitized so that they could be shown around Hiigaran space.
The artifacts themselves were displayed in Hiigara’s first Gaalsien museum.


I am finally happy with what is written here, and do not intend to modify it much, if at all anymore.
Of course if anyone thinks that I am unclear at some places or have made errors in grammar, please let me know.

[kucsidaveee]

Thank you for the award, whoever you are.

[Herp McDerperson]

Originally posted by kucsidaveee:

Thank you for the award, whoever you are.

I threw an award your way as well. It's not anywhere NEAR the caliber as, say...
"Homeworld 3 is non cannon. As is Homeworld 2."
but it was pretty good.

[kucsidaveee]

Thank you so much.
I am currently working on somewhat rewriting it, as I have found out from an american friend that is a bit unclear at some portions and some of the sentence structures are out of whack. (I am from a non-english speaking country)
This is one of the reason I asked for advice actually, as I really want it to be good.
I also want to write in at least something for the beast wars, as I do consider that canon, but I also didn't want to take anything away from the Somtaaw, as that was their story and struggle, and I personally found Cataclysm so good, that I didn't want to touch it.
Edit: completed both first and second rewrrite

[Legiondorf]

Thinking of replaying the game since first time all those years ago and this is the first topic I see lol. Garden of Kadesh flashbacks jez Zoomers will never understand.

[Paladin]

i like this, but on another hand Kadesh v Kushan adds tragedy to their story and enriches it in other way

[kucsidaveee]

Made a final update on this story. I have managed to get it to a place I am happy with, so
thank you everyone.

[Flushing]

Maybe they will be present in Homeworld 3, seems like a loose end.