Ministry of Defence

Formed from the remaining Lorell Raider vessels four thousand years ago, the Royal Hapan Armed Forces were originally called the Royal Hapan Space Fleet, and their primary duties consisted of thwarting piracy within the Hapes Cluster, as well as patrolling the Transitory Mists to defend against possible attacks by the Galactic Republic and other major powers of the era.

As the Hapes Consortium expanded its influence and governance over the other species native to the Hapes Cluster through eras of exploration and militarism, the size of the Hapan military grew to unprecedented heights. As the Consortium maintained a feudal method of governance during the Age of Queen Mothers, local nobility was responsible for maintaining security in their realms in what was known as the Noble Navy, a counterpart to the Consortium Navy maintained directly by the Hapan Government.

When the Hapes Consortium splintered in to civil war in 3946, the different nobles organized their military forces under the banners of the alliances they chose to pledge allegiance to. During the course of the war, which lasted half a century, the military was a way of life for billions of Hapans across the Cluster, and the Consortium made many revolutionary advances in the art of warfare, as well as technology.

As peace finally came with the reunification under King Andrew in 4000, the military was severely downsized and centralized under the Hapan Government to prevent excessive influence of the remaining nobility.

In the decades that followed, the Ministry of Defence was first established in 4026 under the leadership of the Royal Hapan Army's commanding officer, Grand General Harr. It was the first major attempt to organise the Royal Hapan Armed Forces under the central jurisdiction of the Hapan Government, just prior to King James ascending to the Hapan Throne in 4027. It proved initially successful and helped organise the expansion of the military with the addition of such branches as HapSec. As the Hapan Government established contact with powers outside the Hapes Cluster, the military was reformed to counter potential threats by foreign governments and organizations.

The Ministry of Defence rose and fell on a number of occasions, however, and the Royal Hapan Armed Forces found itself at times without Royal Council representation, but with the military High Command having equal standing in the hierarchy of the Consortium to the Royal Council itself during such times, suggesting a competition for influence between the entities. For example, in the aftermath of the Royal Hapan Armed Forces' success during the Black Sun Crisis of 4029, the Ministry was briefly revived under the leadership of Vang Tyrridon, with its dissolvement following shortly in 4030.

The ministry was once again reinstated early in 4034 following two consecutive restructuring attempts of the Royal Hapan Armed Forces by the various branch commanders. The Grand Council, where the Military Council and Royal Council had previously come together, was permanently dissolved and the Ministry of Defence was given a seat on the Royal Council, representing the military. Its role and relative authority had been reduced slightly, but the Minister was by default the chairman of the High Command, the senior authoritative body within the military, without being subordinate to the Prime Minister on military affairs. Changes to the military structure would not cease over the years that followed, but the institutional role of the Ministry was now established to the point that it would resurface virtually unchanged through every cycle of reformation that would follow during the eras of King Alexander I and King Zayth Kadrim I.