Shiro Kurita

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Shiro Kurita
Personal
Born	2270
Died	2348
Affiliation	House Kurita
Career
Position(s)	Coordinator of Worlds
Profession	Noble
Family
Parents	Kamaro Kurita (father)
Siblings	Urizen Kurita
Children	Tenno Kurita Hagai Kurita Omi Kurita Shada Kurita

Shiro Kurita was a Japanese-descended noble from New Samarkand who became the founder of the Draconis Combine and its ruling House Kurita.

History

Early Life and Conquest

Shiro Kurita was born in 2270 in the city-state of Yamashiro on New Samarkand. His father, Kamaro, valued personal discipline, intelligence, and capability reminiscent of ancient Japanese warrior culture. Therefore he raised both Shiro and his younger brother, Urizen, in the traditions of the seventeenth-century Japanese samurai, focusing heavily on martial arts, swordsmanship, statesmanship, and literacy.

At the age of 24, Shiro became Lord of Yamashiro. Acting swiftly, he used blackmail and assassination to remove the other five city-state rulers as threats to his growing power. In January 2296, Shiro declared himself New Samarkand’s “First Citizen” and began planning the creation of his own interstellar empire.

In March of 2302, Shiro Kurita negotiated a mutual defense pact with the nearby planet of Galedon V with the intent of countering the dominant economic power in the region, the Ozawa Mercantile Association. As the Director of the newly-formed Alliance of Galedon, Kurita maneuvered aggressively against the OMA. By November 2303, the Alliance had ruthlessly crushed the OMA, allowing Shiro to aim higher in his ambitions. The following month, Shiro’s army carried out the first full-scale interstellar invasion in history when troops from New Samarkand and Galedon V invaded the planet Sverdlovsk. Over the next six years, the Alliance of Galedon expanded through a combination of diplomacy and war. By early 2309, Shiro Kurita felt powerful enough to assume single-handed rule over his new empire.

Expansion of the Alliance

During the year 2310, Shiro undertook a diplomatic voyage which encompassed several major colony worlds. By June 2310, the Alliance had grown to include over thirty inhabited worlds. Many of these planets had been brought into the Alliance through secret agreements that promised Kurita's support against their enemies – which often included other new members of the Alliance. In June 2311, when two of these worlds, Dieron and Altair, nearly went to war with one another, the truth behind Shiro Kurita's achievements became exposed. Though most just accepted his rule without dispute, some worlds came to resent the methods he used to unite them, causing their leaders to begin speaking out against Shiro as their supreme leader.

To quell dissent, Shiro Kurita called for a conference on New Samarkand in September 2311, to which he invited over one thousand politicians and distinguished leaders from the entire quadrant. When time came to address these delegates, Shiro made an impassioned plea for cooperation between all their worlds under his continued leadership. In doing so, he attempted to affect two distinct outcomes. The first was to make an honest attempt at reunification through diplomacy, focusing on mutual interest and security to galvanize against dissipation. Even so, he could hardly be certain of an unanimous outcome and only hoped that this performance would reaffirm the loyalty of those already dedicated to the alliance. Therefore, his address also served to hold his audience’s attention long enough for his brother Urizen Kurita, to surround the building with loyal troops. At the end of his speech, Shiro offered his guests a choice: submit to his leadership or die. Ultimately, less than half of the delegates present returned home safely from what later became known as the Council of One.

In the aftermath of the Council of One, Shiro and Urizen Kurita ordered the invasions of Benjamin, Asgard, and Telos IV. By August 2312, all three worlds had fallen to Kurita’s armies amid a brutal campaign of conquest. During the next seven years Shiro instigated further expansion efforts through coercive diplomacy. While most planets elected to peacefully submit to the Alliance, a handful of worlds committed to (ineffectively) resist Urizen Kurita’s battle-hardened armies. By November 2319, Shiro Kurita controlled an empire stretching from Terra to the Draconis Rift. The sheer size of this empire called for a new national identity. This, Shiro dissolved the Alliance of Galedon and proclaimed the formation of the Draconis Combine in its stead.

The Draconis Combine

Though Shiro Kurita had at first intended to expand his realm closer to Terra, the rise of the Terran Hegemony forced him to reconsider. He instead decided to conquer all the remaining independent worlds within the northeast quadrant of the Inner Sphere. Though successful, this campaign took the entire 2320s to complete. By 2330, Shiro sensed that his new empire needed a new new unifying goal lest it succumb to stagnation and dissipation. Therefore Shiro ordered the invasion of the Principality of Rasalhague. Although the Rasalhague campaign was largely a failure (Rasalhague would effectively remain an independent state until 2510), the Draconis Combine continued to expand elsewhere during the conflict.

By the time of his death in 2348, Shiro Kurita had incorporated over sixty major worlds into the Draconis Combine, which was then considered the second-most powerful of all interstellar states, second only to the Terran Hegemony.

Quotes

“	I have chosen the dragon as our standard and our symbol, reflecting many facets of our existence. We must never forget the ancient Terran heritage of our line, with its samurai greatness. I remind you, too, that in many mythologies, the dragon is feared and respected for its strength, cunning, and willingness to destroy for the sake of its own power. Always keep the virtues of the dragon in mind, and use them to defeat your opponents. Always preserve the dragon, and its magic will keep you strong.	”
	— Shiro Kurita to his son, Tenno, 2319

“	Always preserve the dragon and its magic will keep you strong.	”
	— Saying of Shiro Kurita, Imperial Press, 2339

“	I offer you an opportunity to join with the Terran Hegemony and to add your resources to our own.	”
	— Official transmission from James McKenna, Director-General of the Terran Hegemony, to Shiro Kurita, Coordinator of the Draconis Combine, circa 2325

“	The eel rarely seeks the same prey as the goldfish. The eagle flies not with the pigeon. The Tiger needs no friendship with the goat. Such as the paths of the Draconis Combine and the Terran Hegemony.	”
	— Shiro Kurita's immediate response

“	Destiny is duty.	”
	— Further Sayings of Shiro Kurita, Imperial Press, Luthien

Gallery

• 
  Shiro Kurita speaking before the Colonial Board of Galedon

Notes

• Shiro Kurita had a close relationship with the AeroSpace manufacturer Raimei and was a prominent shareholder in the company. Shiro also flew as a hobby; the first production standard SB-26 Sabre fighter to be produced by Raimei on Galedon was given to Shiro when it rolled off the production line and would be flown by him on a number of occasions. Shiro's fighter was never flown by anyone else, and was subsequently placed on display in the Cultural History Center in Yamashiro where it remained until at least the late thirty-first century.

Bibliography

• Dark Age: Touring the Stars (3130)
• House Kurita (The Draconis Combine)
• Technical Readout: 3075