In the depths of Wild Space, away from the more civilized regions of the galaxy where the major governments dwell and vie for power, exists a star system called Nihon. Within this star system exist 12 planets orbiting a red star and five of the worlds seems to be life supporting, especially from the gleam of lights coming from each of those worlds. Space traffic, though only within the system is visible as interplanetary freighters move between the worlds, showing what could be a healthy economy. However the tale of the Nihon system is likely to be a long one full of intrigue and perhaps even battle but for now lets us look at the central world, the home of the sole sentient species that occupies the entire star system. This world is Edo, and it is the economic center of the entire Shimoda species though its central government as of currently is very lacking. The Tenno or Divine Sovereign whose line has reigned for over 1,000 years is now nothing more than a figurehead who is honored but ignored but the vast host of nobility called the Daimyo who have dominated the system's politics for over a century. Shimoda society has always suffered from being fractious, mainly due to the love of the Shimoda for battle. This love has been the cause of countless wars within the system upon and/or between the worlds. But a wave of change has begun to shift across Edo where the Tenno himself resides. Many of the Daimyo of this world of grown tired of fighting amongst themselves and have instead began to move to form a government. It would be the first of its kind, uniting an entire world under one banner.

The movement has thus far been guided by the very powerful Vex Daimyo, one of the more dominant powers on Edo with influence upon most of the other worlds as well due to his control of several trade lanes. This unity movement has threats to it as well, but even now the major clan representatives are gathering together within the capital city, called that solely for the fact that it is where the Tenno resides. Within this city, the powers that be are now conspiring to bring the Shimoda people together for once in the lives, to end the pointless bloodshed and instead focus on a much greater goal for the powerful Daimyo have become aware of the galaxy's politics and their fear now grows of something called the Empire. To them it is a great beast consuming all worlds in its path, making them slaves. There is no honor in that, it shows no respect to their opponents who tend to be crushed rather violently. There is no honor in attacking the weak. To this end, the Daimyo reached a very mutual decision. The Empire has no honor. With that fateful choice, the Daimyo of Edo have dispatched a messenger to the organization known as the Coalition in hope of gaining membership. The honorless cannot be permitted to rule.

Shiro, The Imperial City
A tall, broad shouldered, muscular man with green skin and shoulder length black hair paced within the chambers quietly. He is built like most Shimoda, about the height of a human though much broader and more thickly muscled with green skin, sporting a pair of large incisors jutting up from his lower jaw from between his lips. The Shimoda are a large, powerful and seemingly brutal looking species built for constant warfare and the slightly higher the normal gravity of their homeworld of Edo. With him are several others, all wearing what looks to be battle armor on the powerful forms though each colored and marked differently, identifying those there as the Daimyos of Edo.

"Maruk, the time is coming soon. The Coalition envoy will be upon us soon. Are you sure this idea will work? This de-mo-cra-cy? It is such a foreign ideal!" shouted a Daimyo clad in blood red armor of the Dax clan.

"It must work Goloc! The Senate must form!" Maruk bellowed angrily, turning towards his fellow Daimyo and slamming his fist into nearby wall.

"But it will strip many of the Daimyo of their power, you know what that will cause! Another war, long and bloody," replied a purple clad member of the Cov clan.

"Not if we move quickly and carefully enough," Maruk replied with a smirk this time as he stood their in the black armor of the Vex clan.

"What do you propose then?" asked a somber voice from the figure in golden armor sitting on the throne in the room, the current Tenno, Cingoth.

"That we make them a part of the system for now, your Majesty," Maruk replied with a respectful bow. "We will make all Daimyo on the world members of the Grand Senate. Within a few years and casting of votes, they will then be phased out unless they adapt to democratic society."

"Some will still not accept that," muttered the white clad Daimyo of the Tox clan. "They will say it is dishonorable."

"Dishonorable!?" Maruk bellowed again. "They would let our society rot away and degenerate into warring factions! How is that honorable! Our goal is to save lives, to save our people from further unnecessary bloodshed amongst themselves!"

Many of the Daimyo nodded and the Tenno simply gave a very paternal smile.

"Still we will need to do something about all of this. Their armies will be used to resist," replied the Dax Daimyo again.

"There will be no choice. This is full unification. There will be one army, one navy, one government," Maruk said bluntly. "They will join or be crushed. We are the most powerful Daimyo on the planet, each with enough lesser Daimyo in our debt that resistance would be suicide. If they still wish to fight after that, then well will give them the honorable deaths the obviously desire."

"However, it still falls to who is going to lead the government. The Tenno cannot be given such a trival task. We must have someone capable of leading both the Grand Senate as well as the military..." muttered the blue clad Suk clan Daimyo.

"I shall reestablish the Shogunate," stated the Tenno.

The daimyo all seemed to freeze at the statement and hold their breath. They all knew what that meant. The Shogun was the most powerful warlord within Shimoda society. The last had been overthrown ages ago, ending his rule over the entire star system and permitting the Daimyo to rise to power.

"Are you sure, you Majesty? Another Shogun?" Maruk asked in shock as he looked at the somewhat elderly Tenno, his hair silver with old age but still powerfully built because Shimoda genetics constantly replaced aging muscule tissue. It caused them to maintain a healthy body though other organs could fail but nothing like the heart which was all muscle tissue.

"Yes, I am sure, Maruk Vex. The Shogun is the only thing our people respect enough besides myself to follow as a political and military leader. The Shogun shall lead the Grand Senate and the Warhost. All of the Shimoda shall have one true leader again and it will be you."

Maruk stared at the Emperor in shock

"You...your Majesty, surely there is someone more worthy?" Maruk asked in a quiet voice.

"There is no one else, Maruk. You are the only one who has been outside. You have seen the horrors this... this honorless Warhost that calls itself Empire. You are also the only one whose will has been strong enough to unite the Daimyo of this world together to form this new government. You must be Shogun."

Maruk Vex, dumbfounded by this honor dropped to his knees, his armored knees clanking against the polished stone floor and bowed before the Tenno.

"You do me great honor, Majesty. I shall not fail you, even if my own life is required to save this new era we are about to create."

The Tenno smiled and rose from his throne. All others in the chamber dropped to their knees and bowed before the large man that was the Tenno. He stepped towards the still bowing Maruk Vex and placed his hands on the shoulder pads of Maruk's black armor.

"Maruk Vex, do you swear upon your honor to protect the Shimoda from the honorless?"

"I do, Majesty."

"Do you swear upon your honor to unite the Shimoda under one true banner, the banner of the Tenno?"

"I do, Majesty."

"Do you swear upon your honor to punish the honorless and protect the weak?"

"I do, Majesty."

"Then arrise, Maruk Vex. Shogun of the Shimoda. May your life be long and full of glory and honor."

Maruk obeyed and stood as the Tenno pulled a small knife from his belt. He ran the blade across his own palm and black blood oozed forth. Maruk stood there silently and watched before the Tenno stepped forward, pressing his bleeding, outstretched hand to Maruk's forehead before pulling it away, the wound already healed by the natural regenerative properties of the Shimoda. A mark of black blood now sat upon Maruk's forehead and he bowed his head to the Tenno who turned and sat back down upon his throne. The moment he sat, the other Daimyo stood again and all turned to look upon Maruk with awe. He was their Shogun now.

"Daimyo, show respect to the man who shall save our people from savagery and honorlessness," the Tenno commanded sharply.

The remaining Daimyo clutched their fists to their chests and bowed their heads to the still slightly shocked Maruk Vex. He was Shogun in name and purpose now. The Tenno himself had even annointed him with his own blood, the greatest honor any Shimoda coud recieve within their lifetime expect to be buried with the Tenno's ancestors in death as an honorary family member which mean their spirit would reside within the Golden Palace in the Ending along with the every Tenno there has ever been or will be. The was the ultimate honor given to the most glorious of deaths.

"Raise your heads, brothers. We must put our plan into motion or my time as Shogun will be short and meaningless."

The Daimyo raised their heads and the conference continued though with what seemed even more dedication. The Tenno's annointing of a Shogun showed just how heavily the Divine Sovereign support the unity of all Shimoda under the new government. Such an honor meant this was the true path, the right path, the honorable path...

Weeks later

The huge hall rumbled with the deep, guttural language of the Shimoda as Maruk Vex stood in one of the observation galleries looking down upon the first gathering of the Grand Senate. Every Daimyo upon Edo was here, great and small, representing their region rather than their entire holdings. In fact a number of holdings were now government property, an idea of Maruk's to yank some power out of the hands of the many Daimyo. Maruk had done it himself already, handing over all of his holdings to the Tenno. That single act had been very quick to be followed, first by the major Daimyo and then the lessers all of whom did not wish to looked upon badly by the Tenno had quickly complied as well. Within a single day the Shimoda Ascendency had been born by most lands falling under government control. It also meant that the Daimyo were now nothing more than politicians, many of whom would likely not be re-elected due to the very common stance of the public scorn for the overly wealthy Daimyo. Some would likely realize this and try to fix their image though it was all too likely a fair share of those here would not grow wise to the fact that democracy focused very heavily upon the votes of the commoners who far outnumbered the Daimyo.

"Look at it, Maruk, you've done something no Shogun has ever done before," said the Tenno as he stood next to Maruk.

Maruk resisted the sudden impulse to bow before the standing Tenno. It was tradition that that Shogun was treated almost with as much respect as the Tenno. That meant that he was not required to bow to the Tenno though it took an exercise of his will not to do so. All Shimoda, from the day they were born, were taught to revere and respect the Tenno absolutely and that there were no equals to the Tenno but there were those who were below him, the Shogun and Daimyos. Now though, the Daimyo class was being carefully and strategically choked off from power. It meant the rise of Genro, or statesmen, a group that hadn't existed for who knows how long. Genro had last existed during the time of city states before the coming of the First Tenno.

"What is that, you Majesty?" Maruk turned to look at the Tenno.

"United the Shimoda of Edo without violence. My endorsement of you journeying towards the core and gaining an education there seems to have proved correct. You have a excellent grasp of politics and manipulation. You will need those skills to unify the rest of our people and bring all Shimoda under the rule of the Ascendency," said the Tenno with an approving smile.

"You give me too much credit, Majesty. Many of my fellow Daimyo were willing to do this as well," Maruk replied with a small bow of his head at the compliment.

"And you are too modest for a Shogun. We both know a number of those Daimyo are doing this because many Shimoda have been grumbling about the inequalities, the severe taxes and punishments, the lack of honor..."

"True, Majesty, they do this now to save their own skins but it will save our people as well. Every adult Shimoda will be able to vote, we will have strong warriors in thie hall soon enough to replace these spoiled Daimyo. Perhaps sooner than they think. I've already signed into law a recall and election act," Maruk said with a smirk.

The Tenno laughed slightly at that and looked down at the assembly again as it started. Already debates and arguements were breaking out but that was what happened in an elected assembly.

"I imagine they'll be surprised to find themselves getting usurped so quickly by the people. Though they did bring it upon themselves in the end with their honorless corruption and greed. We shall be an honorable people again with the Ascendency and we shall help others as well. I have read the reports and books you brought back. The galaxy has forgotten about honor, about kindness even. This Coalition you've contacted hopefully will be better though I have my doubts. For all we know, they are just as selfish as either of the two empires that hold reign in this galaxy," the Tenno replied with a sigh.

"Even so, I will not let them leech our honor away. I have seen the galaxy and I do not care for how it is run. The Shimoda will step forwards to make a stand, though we may have to be subtle at first. First all the Shimoda must come to our side and after that we need to start making deals for trade. The Shimoda must open themselves to the galaxy in our own way. We will form alliances, show what honor we hold. It is likely some will scoff at us, but that is because they have forgotten what honor is. We will show the galaxy, things shall change..."

The Tenno merely nodded as they both looked on at the Grand Senate below continuing to squabble, like any normal democracy did though Maruk could already see factions forming. The religious. The militarists. The merchants. It looked like the Daimyo turned genro had already adapted rather well though they were still having trouble addressing the common people, especially the ones already in the Grand Senate as elected representatives.

Several Hours Later

Maruk stood in the chambers of the Tenno again along with several of the major new faction leaders of the new political factions.

"We need a strong army!"

"No, a navy is the most important thing!"

"You both seem to forget faith is most important."

"Silence!"

The genro all stopped in shocked silence as they looked towards Maruk Vex who had stood to the side all this time, listening to them bicker about military spending. Not many had gotten to know the Vex Daimyo during his earlier life since his father had sent him away to be educated in what most Shimoda called the honorless wastes, otherwise known as the rest of the galaxy.

"The money will be evenly split between our new army and navy. Both will be required to ensure a strong Warhost is built, one that can stand up against the powers that could come after us someday. As for now, I want to hear no more arguements over it, instead we must begin to consider what sort of hardware our forces will be using. Currently most of our equipment is old, Daimyo owned items, including their private little armadas they tended to keep parked around the territories. We'll organize those, especially since they will likely be needed soon."

The genro bowed their heads slightly at this, not expecting such a firm order to come down so quickly. However, they would obey as he was Shogun. The government and military had to be organized quickly and efficiently otherwise chaos would have a chance to sprout.

"Now then, let us discuss establishment of law enforcement," Maruk stated as he turned back towards a painting of the planet. It would take time but this newly unified world would be stable.