View source for The Nine Archons

{{InfoBoxOrganization
| image = 
| Type = Legislative body
| Founded = [[2346]]<ref name=HBHSp93>''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 93</ref>
| Dissolved = [[2375]]<ref name=HBHSp93/>
| Parent Organization = [[Lyran Commonwealth]]
| Headquarters = 
}}
'''The Nine Archons''' were the original leaders of the [[Lyran Commonwealth]]. The group was intended to provide equal representation to the disparate interests of the new state, but quickly paralyzed itself through indecision.<ref name=HBHSp12>''Handbook: House Steiner'', pp. 12–15</ref>

==History==
===Formation===
The [[Protectorate of Donegal]], [[Tamar Pact]] and [[Federation of Skye]] had grown in the wake of [[Terran Alliance]] power crumbling, but new powers such as the [[Alliance of Galedon]] and [[Free Worlds League]] left them wary. Concerned for their safety, the three alliances began to discuss matters of mutual defense and cooperation. Each state had something to offer the others: the industry of Skye, Tamar's military skill and the untapped resources of Donegal made for an enticing combination. By the 2330s, talks had progressed far enough that [[Kevin Tamar]] was ready to make the plan reality. In [[2339]], Tamar called for a meeting on the world of [[Arcturus]] where the assembled leaders would hammer out a system for combining their armies and economies.<ref name=HBHSp12/>

Tamar, alongside [[Simon Marsden]] and [[Thomas McQuiston]], easily planned a system to foster economic ties between the three states. The matters of governance and military command, though, were more troublesome.<ref name=HBHSp12/> Over the next two years, the trio went in circles trying to find a system all could agree on. Tamar proposed a system of nine Archons modeled on Greek city-states, which ultimately won out less due to its merit and more that no one else put forward a better idea. The Commonwealth was officially founded on 5 January [[2341]].<ref name=HSTLCp10>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 10</ref>

===Stagnation===
The confidence Tamar, Marsden and McQuiston had shown in formulating their economic policy was quickly revealed to be foolhardiness. Their plan to reconcile the differences in business practices between the three states instead resulted in an economy that defied all attempts at prediction or control, as the laws set down by the trio were found to be riddled with loopholes.<ref>''Handbook: House Steiner'', p. 14</ref> It took the new government another five years just to decide who the Nine Archons would be. Though they eventually agreed on the leaders of the three states, their deputies, a treasurer, a supreme commander for the military and a transportation secretary, they could not agree which one of them would hold the title of Archon Basileus, the senior Archon who would wield executive power.<ref name=HSTLCp10>''House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)'', p. 10</ref> During this period, Archon Treasurer [[Brandon Malthus]] took brazen advantage of his position to fill the family coffers, and by extension, those of the [[Malthus Gambling Unlimited|Malthus Syndicate]].<ref>''Shrapnel (magazine)'', Issue 8 - The Malthus Confederation</ref>

===Collapse===
The combined economic and political crisis continued for twenty-five years. Rising troop numbers on the [[Draconis Combine]] border left leaders looking at major tax hikes to support their untested military. All three member states began to openly consider seceding from the nascent Commonwealth, with the Prime Minister of the Tamar Pact proposing his state seek a separate peace with the Combine. As anti-Commonwealth strikes and riots broke out everywhere from the industrial heart of Skye to the hinterlands of Donegal, [[Robert Marsden]] chose to take action. The Archon of Donegal began to tour the realm, meeting with local leaders in what he claimed was an attempt to shore up the economy and coordinate national defense. In truth, he was gathering support for his next move.<ref name=HBHSp14>''Handbook: House Steiner'', pp. 14–16</ref>

In May [[2375]], the nine Archons had gathered in the capital on Arcturus. Their goal, to fix the glaring issues with the Lyran economy and reorganize the myriad local militias into a professional army, quickly degenerated into squabbling over where local authority ended and national authority began. The meeting was ultimately fruitless, and the Archons returned home, save for Marsden. 17 August 2375 marked the end of the Nine Archons era. Marsden broadcast the information he had gathered on his colleagues' misdeeds and claimed the title of Archon Basileus. Long since fed up with their government, the people enthusiastically supported Marsden and most of them were tracked down and arrested within hours of the message's arrival.<ref name=HBHSp14/>

==Known Members==
* [[Kevin Tamar]] (Archon of Tamar)
* [[Simon Marsden]] (Archon of Donegal)
* [[Thomas McQuiston]] (Archon of Skye)
* [[Robert Marsden]] (Archon of Donegal)
* [[Brandon Malthus]] (Archon Treasurer)<ref name=HBHSp15>''Handbook: House Steiner'' p. 15</ref>

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Handbook: House Steiner]]''
* ''[[House Steiner (The Lyran Commonwealth)]]''

[[Category:Government Agencies|Nine Archons]]