House Harkonnen	House Harkonnen.		House Harkonnen
House Harkonnen. Status: House Major. Symbol: Griffin. Army: Regular Great House, Mercenaries. Uniform: Blue, Orange. Colors: Blue, Orange. Homeworld: Giedi Prime. Ruling Title: Baron. House Harkonnen was a Great House during the time of the Padishah Emperors. Their capital was Giedi Prime, a heavily industrialised planet with a low photosynthetic potential. House Harkonnen was most famous for its underhanded and sinister political tactics, and for an ancient feud it maintained with another Great House, House Atreides. In addition, House Harkonnen had a reputation for ambition, malevolence, hatred and brutality. It was typically ruled by a Siridar Baron. Origins The Harkonnen name was believed to originate in what was northern Europe on ancient Earth, and the region of Earth called Suomi, also Finland. It has been suggested that the Harkonnen name comes from Sweden as a derivation of Hakkon - but it is likely that it is indeed from Finland, as Harkonen is a 20th Century Finnish name. Moreover, the family name Harkonen is derived from the Finnish word harka which means ox, the icon of Harkonnen. Emergence as a Great House After many centuries toiling as a House Minor, Harkonnen influence gradually rose within the Landsraad, due mostly to shrewd manipulation of the whale fur market, which was primarily the efforts of Baron Dmitri Harkonnen and his son Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. House Harkonnen had built its power on maximising production output, and minimising production expenses by ignoring economically ethical behaviour. Indeed, Harkonnen governing was based upon a simple foundation of fear and terror. They were used in governance, in the day-to-day running of the Harkonnen household, and in controlling the Harkonnen armies. With a social order based on treachery and punishment, soldiers rose through the ranks through deceit, trickery and, if necessary, assassination. In approximately 10130 AG, House Harkonnen won the siridar fief of Arrakis. Their responsibility was to mine the spice melange and supply it to the universe. Through their persecution of the Fremen, and through the minimisation of outlay on infrastructure and pay, the Harkonnens managed to pay the tithe they owed to the Emperor, as well as keep a substantial amount of melange for themselves. By 10191 AG, the Harkonnens had managed to amass considerable wealth through spice mining. Demise Despite House Harkonnen's relative power prior to the end of the Corrino Empire, Vladimir Harkonnen desired the ultimate achievement of usurping the Corrinos and form the Harkonnen Empire. Thus, he secretly plotted against both House Atreides and House Corrino, hoping to destroy the former and overpower the latter through force and marriage. However, Vladimir Harkonnen's plans were ultimately unravelled by the rise of Paul Atreides on Arrakis. After Vladimir Harkonnen's death at the hands of Paul's younger sister, Alia Atreides in 10193 AG, the title of Baron passed very briefly to his nephew, Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen, before being killed by Paul Atreides in an act of kanly. After the ascent of House Atreides, what little remained of House Harkonnen saw its power and resources quickly disappear. Control of Giedi Prime was given the people of Caladan, and under the direction of Gurney Halleck, once a slave on that world, dismantled the machines of industry, changed its name and the names of its cities, and replanted forests and greenery there. House Harkonnen essentially ceased to be during the time of Muad'Dib's Jihad. However, the Harkonnen bloodline continued to exist through Bene Gesserit breeding programs for more than 1500 years thereafter, and ultimately through the mingling with the Atreides bloodline, with Paul Atreides being the grandson of Vladimir Harkonnen. Daniela ATREIDES-IDAHO, Greatgrandaugher of Alia ATREIDES, founder of the resurrected House HARKONNEN. Resurrection The ATREIDES/HARKONNEN War ended a century before the arrival of the UGC; All of the priniclples in that conflict had died, as had most of their children. The UGC dislikes power vacuums, and the disillusion of House Harkonnen qualified as a major power vacuum. In response, the Council's Plenipotentiary to the Landsraad worked VERY hard to restore the House to control Geidi Prime- And no other. Upon assuming the title of Baron Of House Harrkonen, Daniela ATREIDES-IDAHO issued "Edict On Stewardship" which forbade the use of heart plugs (and in fact made the installation OR POSSESION of such devices a capital crime), ordered any heart plugs removed (and imposed a sentence of death to any person participating in heart plug removals where a patient died, with said sentence to be carried out within 12 hours), and ordered all toxic sites cleansed and the discontinuation of toxic dumping.
House Harkonnen.	Giedi Prime.		House Harkonnen.
Giedi Prime Giedi Prime From Orbit. Map Of Giedi Prime. Giedi Prime (pronounced /ˈjeɪdi/), a planet of Ophiuchi B (36), it is the homeworld of House Harkonnen. It was an industrial wasteland with a low photosynthetic potential, the planet's bio-resources depleted and its environment fouled with industrial pollution. Rich in mineral resources, the economy of the planet is based on mining, refineries, and industrial manufacture. The planetary capital is the city of Harko, centered on an oppressive by a massive building complex referred to as either "The Keep" or "Barony" (formerly "Harkonnen Keep"), one of the few remaining buildings from the Harkonnens (apart from a secret no-chamber). Due to its ravaged environment, Giedi Prime has to import almost all of its requirement of organic products. The Harkonnen had sought to compensate this weakness by militry power and conquest. Society on Giedi Prime remains a martial one, and the weak rarely survive; However, the Restored House Harkkonen discontinued the gladiatorial games, despite vocational combat training from an early age remaining common in all classes of society. In fact, it is now supremely mandatory, being required for citizenship; Basic math is the only field of study more important, and literacy is secondary to militry training. Slavery is legal and common, and legal punishment is unusually draconian. Such conditions form the basis for a vast militry-industrial complex and an army conditioned by fear makes House Harkonnen firmly in control of Giedi Prime. The founder's provenance places House Harkonnen as a contender for House Atreides' throne, and their militry power, should the house ever gain said throne, means they will hold it for quite some time. Giedi Prime is also known as "Gammu" as the planet was formally renamed such in the aftermath of the ATREIDES/HARKONNEN War (reportedly on recommendation of rebel General Gurney HALLEK) Post Resurrection After ressuretiction, Daniela ATREIDES-IDAHO, commandedthat theplanetbe restored to "a survivable condition." The efforts of various new settlers have slowly improved conditions, though the cities remain dreary and overcrowded. Giedi Prime's low solar energy input makes this a dark, largely barren world, with mosses, lichens, and small scrub. Even most grasses do not grow well here on the surface, unless it's in a greenhouse to aid it's growth. As a result, Giedi Prime continues to import most food stuffs, etc., and export minerals and manufactured goods. However, Daniela ATREIDES-IDAHO'S Edict On Stewardship commanded that the rabid environmental degradation was to be discontinued, and as a result "seas" of toxic chemicals and mine wastes have largely disappeared. Physical Characteristics Internal Structure Surface Geology Soil Hydrology Giedi Prime has massive oceans and sea, of a common mix of H2O and minerals eroded from and solvated into the water. The oceans also have a higher-than-average salvation of toxic chemicals, many synthetic in nature, from centuries of unregulated industrial dumping, often directly into rivers and streams, without treatment in any form. Polar Caps Giedi Prime's polar caps are very limited; The caps melt off entirely in the hemispherical summers, and combined would only reach about 6202 mi at maximum.
Sub Factions: House Harkonnen only has one real sub-faction, Harkonnen Remnant, which much of the resurrected House was built from.