Hikibashi¶

"The Hikibashi do not exist. The Hikibashi were never here. The Hikibashi have already left." — Standard Mierese denial protocol

The Hikibashi are the elite special forces of the Mierese — a unit of assassin-spies so skilled and secretive that their very existence is officially denied by every level of Mierese government. They serve only the Mierese leader — currently Volmik Vaor Scarka — and answer to no other authority, not even the ONI Consortium as an institution. They are not a title, not a rank, not a philosophy. They are a specific operational unit trained in infiltration, assassination, intelligence gathering, and unconventional warfare.

Numbering no more than forty to sixty active operatives at any given time, the Hikibashi are deliberately small — a precision instrument, not a blunt force. Every member is exclusively Mierese, selected for the species' unique biological advantages: natural poison resistance, extraordinary fine motor control, heat tolerance, and head tentacle sensory capabilities that no other species can replicate. The name Hikibashi is Old Mierese — its literal meaning is disputed even among scholars, but it is commonly translated as "those who move beneath the current."

Their most famous graduate is Vaor Scarka himself — the current leader of the ONI faction and Ruling Secretary of the Council of Peace. That the galaxy's most powerful diplomat was trained as an assassin-spy reveals something fundamental about Mierese political culture: the line between statecraft and covert operations has never existed.

History¶

Origins¶

The Hikibashi's founding date is unknown — they may be as old as the Mierese space-faring civilization itself. Born from the aquatic heritage of Neuno, the unit was shaped by the same forces that shaped the Mierese as a species: the currents of Neuno's living oceans demand adaptability, patience, and the ability to strike from concealment.

The unit was formed to serve the Mierese leadership directly — a tool that conventional military forces cannot provide: precision, deniability, and the ability to shape events without leaving evidence. The Hikibashi predates the ONI Consortium; when the Mierese joined ONI, the Hikibashi came with them, but their loyalty remained to the Mierese leader, not to ONI as an institution.

Vaor Scarka — The Hikibashi Who Became Secretary¶

Volmik Vaor Scarka originates from the Eskscarka Currents region of Neuno. He completed all three branches of Hikibashi training — an extraordinary achievement that qualified him for operational leadership. His rise from covert operative to Mierese leader to COP Ruling Secretary represents the most dramatic ascent in Hikibashi history.

Scarka's militarist leadership of the COP — launching interventions in Frenir, Pergamos, and against the Jorvik Fleet — may reflect Hikibashi philosophy: decisive action, overwhelming force applied to precise targets. As Mierese leader, Scarka is the only person in the galaxy who knows the Commandant's true identity.

The Three Currents¶

The Hikibashi is organized into three operational branches, named after the forces that shape Neuno's living oceans. Every operative is trained in all three disciplines but assigned to a primary Current based on aptitude.

The Deep Current — Intelligence & Infiltration¶

"The deep currents of Neuno move slowly, invisibly, and shape the ocean floor over centuries."

Long-term infiltration and deep-cover intelligence gathering. Deep Current operatives are embedded in foreign factions, governments, and institutions — living entire second lives while feeding intelligence back to the Commandant. They recruit and handle foreign assets but never reveal their Hikibashi affiliation, even to their own sources.

The Riptide — Direct Action & Assassination¶

"The riptide strikes without warning, pulls the target beneath the surface, and leaves no trace."

Surgical strikes, assassination, sabotage, and high-value target elimination. Riptide operatives are deployed for specific missions and extracted or burned afterward. Operations are designed to be untraceable — deaths attributed to accidents, factional violence, or simply left as mysteries. Teams are typically two to three operatives; solo operations are reserved for the most experienced agents.

The Undertow — Counterintelligence & Internal Security¶

"The undertow pulls back what the surface pushes forward — what you see is not what is happening beneath."

Counterintelligence, internal security, mole detection, and disinformation campaigns. The Undertow protects the Mierese and ONI from the kind of infiltration the Hikibashi themselves practice. Their most sensitive ongoing operation involves monitoring the Mierese Lore Keepers and the three Sealed Chapters — a mission that creates deep internal tension within the Mierese species.

Training — "The Drowning"¶

"They don't train you to fight. They train you to drown — and then they teach you to breathe underwater." — Attributed to an unnamed Hikibashi washout

The Hikibashi training program — known internally as The Drowning — takes place in the deepest, most dangerous regions of Neuno's living ocean, where the planet's biological immune system is most aggressive. Duration is approximately three Neuno years.

Selection¶

Recruits are identified from among the most promising young Mierese — typically in late adolescence. Selection criteria are never published, but observed patterns suggest exceptional memory, physical adaptability, psychological resilience, and an absence of strong tribal identity. Candidates are not told they are being considered. They are simply approached by a stranger who offers them "specialized service to the current."

Curriculum¶

The training encompasses combat in multiple environments, identity construction and long-term deception maintenance, surveillance and counter-surveillance, Mierese-specific toxicological expertise (exploiting their natural poison resistance), electronic warfare and system intrusion, and interrogation resistance. Trainees are regularly subjected to environmental survival exercises in Neuno's most hostile zones.

The Final Trial¶

The final trial is to survive the Eskscarka Currents solo — the most treacherous waters on Neuno. Trainees are given no equipment, no weapons, and no timeline. The graduation rate is approximately fifteen percent. Those who fail but survive are given new identities and reassigned to conventional military roles — they can never speak of their training, and the Hikibashi monitors them for the rest of their lives.

Known Operations¶

Operation Silt (~2598)¶

A Deep Current operative spent over a decade embedded within Jorvik pirate leadership, rising through the ranks of a mid-tier clan. The intelligence gathered provided detailed knowledge of Jorvik fleet movements, supply chains, and factional rivalries — intelligence that Scarka channeled through ONI and the COP. This intelligence directly contributed to the COP's successful Jorvik Fleet interdiction, Scarka's most decisive military action. The operative was extracted before the interdiction. Jorvik suspects a mole but has never identified the source. Operation Silt is considered the Hikibashi's greatest intelligence success of the modern era.

The Pergamos Incident (~2615)¶

A Riptide operative — Trill Yara — eliminated a Pergamos Shadow Bank financier who was funding anti-Mierese political movements across multiple sectors. The operation was technically successful, but post-mission forensic analysis identified trace biological evidence consistent with Mierese physiology at the scene. This remains the only confirmed exposure of a Hikibashi operative in modern history — a failure of operational security that is a source of institutional shame. Trill Yara was immediately burned and disappeared from all records. The Shadow Banks have no proof, but they have not forgotten.

The Frenir Eye (~2624—Present)¶

Plirk Dosk Scarka was assigned to Frenir by Scarka personally to monitor the embedded slaver threat following the COP liberation. Operating under the cover title "Community Liaison" on the Frenir Transition Council, Dosk runs a covert intelligence network tracking escaped slaver warlords. Intelligence reports flow directly to the Commandant, then to Scarka — bypassing all ONI channels entirely.

The Sealed Chapters Crisis¶

The three Sealed Chapters held by the Mierese Lore Keepers represent one of the most sensitive intelligence gaps in the galaxy. Guarded by Chief Lore Keeper Ondara Valel and known only to her and two designated successors, the Chapters are believed to contain knowledge that could reshape the Mierese understanding of their own history.

The Hikibashi believe this knowledge has strategic value. The Undertow has been assigned to gain access — or at minimum, determine the Chapters' contents. Ondara Valel has refused every formal request. The Commandant has stopped asking politely. Undertow operatives are believed to have established surveillance around the Resonance Halls, the deep-ocean chambers where the Lore Keepers hold their most sacred recitations.

This creates an unprecedented crisis: two of the Mierese species' most powerful institutions — one military, one cultural — locked in a shadow conflict that neither can acknowledge publicly. Scarka is caught in the middle, balancing the Hikibashi's intelligence needs against the Lore Keepers' cultural authority. The crisis has no clean resolution. If the Hikibashi breach the Sealed Chapters by force, they violate the deepest traditions of their own species. If they abandon the effort, they leave a critical intelligence gap unresolved.

Notable Members¶

Relations¶

Galactic Indices¶