Exodus Systems

The conflict following the imperial election of 813 impacted the Hickory Nations in many ways. As the Agnazari Empire broke into civil war, the Hickories declared independence. They had every intention on staying out of all matters relating to the war.
 * work in progress****

The Agnazari civil war following the imperial election of 813 impacted the Hickory nations in many ways.

The conflict following the imperial election of 813 had a tremendous unexpected impact on the Hickories. As the Agnazari Empire broke into civil war, Bartholomew Low, the Lord of Arlow declared independence on behalf of the Hickory Nation. They had every intention on staying out of the war. But when the war arrived on their doorstep in the form of refugees, they were forced to act.

In 818, after five years of fighting, refugees arriving at the Nebulae were in the millions. The number grew exponentially, and in 823 the Hickories were forced to act, as the estimated number of refugees in the Nebulae had reached 78 million people.

Bartholomew Low, who was by no means an uncontested ruler of the Hickory Nations, rallied the Hickories to form a retrofitted fleet of cargo ships to transport refugees to the outer fringes. Across the Cabyssian Strait were numerous systems, already marked for colonization by the Agnazari Empire. Political turmoil of past decades halted the colonization efforts, leaving at least sixteen habitable worlds empty. This event is known as the Great Exodus, and the systems across the Cabyssian Strait are known as the Exodus Systems.

The influx of refugees was greater than their current rate of migrating them into the Exodus Systems. The Hickory Nation had to increase their capabilities, or simply stop accepting refugees. Hickory leaders and independent captains began to venture into imperial space, to freight refugees directly to Exodus. This effort sometimes led to Hickory vessels to get caught in the crossfire. The most prominent example is during the Ezram Ceasefire. Hundreds of Hickory vessels were destroyed or captured by pirates.

This humanitarian effort was not entirely out of sheer kindness. The Hickories could only support a limited amount of people. The unchecked flow of refugees could have easily caused a severe food shortage.

In 827 they had over 8000 vessels transporting refugees. By 831, by their own estimation, they had accepted, harbored, transported, and coordinated passage for at least 4,7 billion people.

The Exodus System was settled during the Elector War, by refugees in an event known as the Great Exodus.