Jack of Harts

Alaska’s standard of living fell hard during the Second Great Depression. The influx of American conveniences dried up quickly when the cargo ships missed a few shipments, but the land could provide if you had the skills. Most people did not have those skills. That was especially true in the Juneau Panhandle where government administration was the primary employment opportunity. Learning how to shuffle papers does little to prepare you for the end of modern civilization as we know it. The Second Great Depression was not truly that bad, but for many places it might as well have been. The Juneau Panhandle was one of those places, and it would never be the same afterwards.

The Juneau Panhandle was home to Alaska’s largest cities and warmest climate when the Second Great Depression began, and the capital city was a favored stop on Alaskan ocean tours. Most of the settlements all over the small islands filling the area had no road access to the rest of the continent despite decades of promises. The Second Great Depression dried up the tourism industry and left the government without access to the outside resources they needed to survive. The government fell into complete and utter chaos and effectively ceased to exist.

The Kingdom of Hawaii sailed into the new world after the Second Great Depression ended with a confidence few others matched. They built new islands, founded new colonies in space, and ultimately colonized the stars. They finally named themselves the Star Kingdom of Hawaii and have made a reputation for themselves in the centuries that have followed. Hawaiian merchant ships follow the trade lanes throughout Western Alliance space, and while their navy is small, it is capable. Hawaiian sailors are born to leave the land and are some of the best to make their way in the black. They are taught as children that the ocean can kill them at any time. They learn that there are very few old, bold sailors when they are young, and they take that bone deep knowledge into space with them. They learn to be cautious and observant, and that is often the difference between life and death in the unforgiving vastness of space. Hawaiian shipmasters are in high demand throughout the Alliance, and the best of them can demand salaries only the richest of families can match. I grew up with an Hawaiian shipmaster in charge of my personal spacecraft, and she never failed to live up to every bit of their reputation.