The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.The death of AP and the rise of Firefly to become DDS Commander finally bought to an end the New DDS era, the attempt at rebirth and rebranding of the DDS first under the leadership of Rotarios from 2103 and latterly under AP. But what was the New DDS and how did it come about? In this multi-part series i will examine the rise and fall of the New DDS and the personnel involved in this mysterious and often bloody epoch in DDS history.
History of the New DDS (1) : Origins
Although Rotarios was the DDS Commander who bought about the New DDS the architect behind the scenes was Vodaphone. Quite why he set about creating the New DDS Project can never fully be revealed as he did not write anything down on these topics and of course took his secrets to his (nuclear explosion assisted) grave...
However we can find hints here and there and one big "hint" was the state of the DDS at the end of the Clone Wars. The DDS at the start of the 2100s was in turmoil. The disastrous end of the 2nd Clone War and the death of Windscorpion sent the DDS into a tailspin with the HCS running rampant across the galaxy. The return of Windy and the successful ending of the Clone Wars did help restore the DDS to an even keel but the damage was done. Vodaphone began to openly criticise The Shiner's leadership of the DDS. He made no secret of the fact he didn't like how the DDS was being run. Vodaphone in later years also openly displayed his hatred for Windy and his dislike for Windyism.
Therefore we can infer that Vodaphone feared The Shiner's weak leadership of the DDS was crumbling and that Windy would take over, a situation he considered unthinkable. For whatever reason we know for sure that Vodaphone went along the path of regime change and sought a new leader.
But why Rotarios, again this is unclear but Vodaphone recruited the ex-HCS general sometime in early 2103 (or late 2102). Vodaphone may have considered himself to lead the New DDS but as an intelligent man no doubt realised his profile was too low to have a realistic chance against established warriors like Windy and Sea Urchin and perhaps Vodaphone did not want the top job anyway. Rotarios is a man with a proven track record of command, a man of great charisma, a man also possessing great cruelty and megalomania (though obviously Vodaphone didn't think these latter flaws a problem...)
Once Rotarios was secured as the potential new leader Vodaphone then needed an ally, and he found this in AP. AP was a DDS journeyman who was considered a rather grey but competent administrator (he was City Commander at the time) who thirsted for a more active role in the DDS operationally. He was frustrated in his attempts (and often humiliated by the likes of Sea Urchin). Vodaphone found turning AP fairly easy, although AP at first was aghast at the thought of Rotarios in charge of the DDS he was quickly seduced by the thought of the likes of Sea Urchin having to call him sir. AP was a rather venal man, accomplished and intelligent but also very insecure. AP was thus easy to buy off with the concept of power.
With an ally and a leader-in-waiting Vodaphone now needed to destabilise the existing regime in order to bring about the new. To do this they needed an army... they needed the Hoods.
Next : The rise of the Hoods
