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The Rude Awakening
One of the most difficult aspects of the Hiigaran Landfall was the revival of our so-called "Sleeper Kiithid," the 92% of our current population who traveled from Kharak to Hiigara in cryogenic suspension. Upon arrival on Hiigara, most of our Sleepers faced a very rude awakening; in some ways, our society is still trying to cope with what they were told when they rose from cold storage.

There was good news, of course. Every Sleeper was delighted to hear that the Mothership and its crew had arrived safely on our Homeworld, that the mystery of our origins had been solved and that the oppressive regime that once banished us to the far reaches of space had been defeated. But there was very, very bad news as well: and unlike our fighting men and women, the Sleepers had no month-long struggle for survival to cushion their shock and horror when they heard that Kharak had been destroyed.

No one awakened on Hiigara without an immediate burden of grief and loss…and sometimes guilt and anger as well. When they went to sleep, most Sleepers had accepted the possibility that they would never see their loved ones again, but it was generally assumed that those onboard the Mothership would be in far greater danger than those we left behind. The Sleepers began their mission with a willingness to sacrifice themselves, secure in the knowledge that their own families and friends would carry on and remember them, if worst came to worst. The irony of finding that the crew of the Mothership were the only survivors of our race was too much for many to bear. In the first few weeks after Landfall, there were dozens of suicides.

Only one out of every 60 Kushan was aboard the Mothership at launch. Volunteers for Sleep had been forced to meet some basic criteria for useful skills, age and health. This seemed extremely reasonable at the time, simple common sense; but some of those practical decisions had cruel consequences in hindsight. For example, no persons under the age of 17 or over the age of 50 were accepted; the freezing process was considered too great a risk for those not in optimal condition. There were no children aboard the Mothership, nor any of our elders. When Kharak burned, the majority of Sleepers lost their blood links to both past and future; we were left with nothing to hold on to but a few seconds of torturous satellite footage…pictures of our loved ones being burned alive by the Taiidani Imperium.

The Burning of Kharak has kindled a great hatred in the Kushan people, of this there can be no doubt. The savagery of the Imperial attacks both on Kharak and on their own cryogenic storage units has filled our Sleepers with what can only be described as bloodthirsty rage…and as many have pointed out, watching the video footage of the Emperor's personal guard being cut to ribbons is not the same as being there! We cope with this anger in various ways, but our society still boils with resentment of the Taiidani in general.

Of course, most of our people are capable of distinguishing between the Imperium, which wronged us so cruelly, and the current besieged Taiidani Republic, which is still ruled by the Rebels who helped us win back Hiigara…but sadly, not everyone can make this distinction. With the constant threat of Imperialist rule, for many Kushan, the only good Taiidani is a dead one and even the moderates are pushing for the annexation of nearby former Taiidani worlds in the name of security for Hiigara.

All of us have had to make some kind of peace with the past, and go on as best we can. Some of us have thrown ourselves into the hard work of construction, trying to recreate some small part of what we lost; some of us have hastened to bring new children into our depleted kiithid. Others have volunteered for military service, and spend their days repelling Imperial and pirate attacks on our borders. But for some, the ordinary means of coping do not suffice…

No one embodies the Kushan hatred of Imperials more perfectly than the man now known as Iifrit Tambuur'sa. Iifrit is the last living member of the Tambuur kiith, and for the past twelve years he has lived largely in the new Taiidani Republic. Tambuur'sa and his young wife, Dava, were the only members of Kiith Tambuur who made the Gold List back on Kharak; both of them were chosen as Sleepers, and they were frozen side by side some months before the Mothership was launched. Unfortunately, when the Taiidani burned Kharak, they also turned and opened fire on our cryogenic storage units; Dava Tambuur's life pod was one of many to be irreparably damaged, and she died in transit to Hiigara.

When Iifrit Tambuur awoke from cold sleep, he found that he had lost not only his entire kiith, but his beloved wife as well. He declared Paaura on the Taiidani Imperium, and several Kushan survivors who sympathized with his cause became honorary members of Kiith Tambuur, in order to share in his "eternal vengeance." Out of respect for the ancient vow of Paaura, Tambuur'sa and his people were granted the use of a small frigate, and he has since become one of the most famous bounty hunters in this quadrant of the galaxy, credited with collecting the heads of over 300 Imperial war criminals.