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The Kadeshi (also known as the Protectors of the Garden) were the feared inhabitants of the Garden of Kadesh.
Background[]
- "This is the Garden of Kadesh. For thirteen generations we have protected it from the unclean. The Turanic Raiders who came before you refused to join and were punished for this trespass. Like theirs, your ship has already defiled this holy place. If you have come to join we welcome you and will spare your ship until all have disembarked. If you have come to consume the garden you will be removed at once." — Kadeshi Ambassador
The Kadeshi were originally Hiigarans prior to and during the Exile. After the Hiigaran Empire collapsed at the hands of the triumphant Taiidan Empire, the future Kadeshi along with the rest of their people were sent away from Hiigara after the Taiidan were persuaded to spare the survivors. When the Hiigaran convoy ferrying them to the Outer Rim came to the Great Nebula of Kadesh, a group of Hiigarans came to the belief that they would never make it to Kharak, and even if they did, that the world would be too hostile for their people. At least four Khar-Toba class ships broke off from the rest of the convoy and sought shelter in the nebula, thus founding the Kadeshi race.
Fairly quickly, it became obvious to the Kadeshi Hiigarans that they would have to make use of more materials than just those which the nebula provided. It was clearly a vital tool in their ability to hide from the Taiidan as well as a hindrance in that it could not provide some of the rarer materials they would need to survive. If they stayed, the Kadeshi realized they would need to continue to build ships, maintain life-support systems, and grow food over a long period. They made the decision to stop harvesting the nebula itself and go after a more varied and valuable resource: other ships. [1]
Starting with what few assets they had to begin with, and without a sense of mercy following how they had been treated by the Taiidan, the Kadeshi started raiding supply ships that would come through the nebula hoping to cut time off their journey. Small ships at first started to disappear, but as the Kadeshi gained additional material and learned how best to make use of the nebula's unique stellar terrain, they became more and more aggressive in their raids. Every part of a plundered ship would become a Kadeshi vessel, and every member of its crew who would not join the cause was put to death. Soon, even ships that procured security escorts would not make it from one side of the nebula to the other, and the entire region was considered off-limits to all but the most daring crews. Still, through all this time, the Taiidan never uncovered the origin of the “Kadeshi” raiders. [2]
The Kadeshi built large needle-shaped home-ships and developed hyperspace inhibitors to capture and prevent ships from leaving the nebula. They also designed small but maneuverable starfighters that could literally swarm and overwhelm their enemies through sheer numbers. They proved to be great warriors, and eventually even the Taiidan came to fear the Great Nebula. According to the Bentusi - no one returns. Eventually, in the face of this unseen threat, the rest of the galaxy shuttered all shipping lanes passing through the nebula, leaving the Kadeshi as the dominating force and left relatively undisturbed for generations to come.
During the Homeworld War, the Kushan first encountered the Kadeshi when the Kushan fleet burst into the Nebula while on their way to find their Homeworld, dodging their enemy as the Kadeshi themselves had several millennia before. Having already begun to harvest the rich resources within the nebula as they attempted to orient their sensors, the Kushan had already violated the sanctity of the Garden. Their presence prompted the Kadeshi to approach, and sent their ambassador to personally greet the Kushan. In this meeting, the ambassador informed them of their trespass onto their holy space, having already dealt with the Turanic Raiders who had similarly trespassed into the Garden only a short time before the Kushan's own arrival. The Kadeshi then offered the Kushan the chance to join them in the safety of the nebula, and that they would be removed if they continued to consume the Garden. The Kushan explained that they meant the Kadeshi and their revered space no harm, and would withdraw immediately back into neutral space. At this point, the Kadeshi informed them that there is no withdrawal from the Garden, and then proceeded to launch a massive assault to exterminate the intruders.
Unlike the Turanic Raiders and many other intruders, the Kushan Mothership and her fleet managed not only to repel attacking Kadeshi fighters, but also began to strike at the Kadeshi Mothership, eventually forcing it to retreat. During this attack, the Kadeshi Mothership had employed an inhibitor field to sabotage the Kushan's attempt to jump into hyperspace. Through this, analysis found that the Mothership's hyperdrive signature was identical to that of the Khar-Toba, the ancient vessel that had ferried the Kushan to Kharak after the Exile. This prompted suspicion of a deeper connection between the Kushan and the Kadeshi, the first hint towards their shared ancestry.
As the Kushan fleet moved deeper into the Nebula, the Kadeshi deployed two more Motherships for support and they trapped the Kushan Mothership in an inhibitor field while their fleet surrounded the invaders. Again, the Kadeshi offered the Kushan the chance to join them.
- "Again we offer you a chance to join us and live here in peace." — Kadeshi Ambassador
- "We cannot stay - we're on a journey. But let there be peace between us, for we have something in common. The hyperdrive technology left to us by our ancestors is identical to yours. The Homeworld we seek may be yours as well." — Karan S'jet
- "You will fail. The evil that drove us here will find and destroy you. From you they will know about us and come here. This cannot come to pass." — Kadeshi Ambassador
In response, the Kadeshi sent most of their ships in massive waves and attacked the Kushan fleet from all directions. They sent in multiple waves of fighters supported by their powerful Multi-Beam Frigates, the later of which arrived in several formations with the purpose of destroying the Mothership itself with their devastating force of ion cannons. However, the Kushan fought back using their Multi-Gun Corvettes supported by Drone Frigates that proved to be a match against the fast, but lightly armored Swarmers. They also proceeded to destroy the Kadeshi's lightly armored Fuel Pods to deny their fighters the ability to refuel on the field, while also capturing or destroying the Multi-Beam Frigates razing their forces. Eventually, the Kushan attacked the Kadeshi's motherships one by one, destroying two of them even as the fast-moving warships attempted to ram the oncoming Kushan ships in self-defense. Facing defeat, the Kadeshi retreated to a wreckage of an ancient ship, possibly the very one that first brought them to the Nebula. From this discovery the Kushan deduced that they and the Kadeshi were indeed of the same race, their ancestors having parted ways amongst themselves as they traveled across the galaxy. The Kadeshi continued to fight desperately but were finally defeated by the Kushan, disrupting the inhibitor field and allowing the Kushan to exit the nebula.
After the Homeworld War[]
The destruction of the Kadeshi motherships left them in disarray, but it didn't spell the end of their people. While the three Triad Home-Ships were the largest of their kind, they weren't the only home-ships the Kadeshi had. The combination of their shocking defeat, along with the revelations that the Hiigaran people had indeed survived the trek to Kharak against all odds and that the Kadeshi were related to them, caused a massive change in the outlook of the flock of Kadesh. After the end of the war and the reclamation of Hiigara by the Kushan, over half of the surviving Kadeshi reunited with their people. As their bodies had adapted to living in outer space, most of the Kadeshi that reintegrated into Hiigaran society had difficulties in living on gravity-based environments, and took on roles related to asteroid mining and orbital installations. [3]
The Kadeshi that didn't rejoin their Kushan siblings chose to live independently of them, with many scattering across the galaxy. A small group remained in the Great Nebula and retreated into its depths to rebuild, sticking to their old ways of worshipping it and raiding trespassers. The Great Nebula, once a hazard no one dared to approach, became much safer than before, despite the occasional Kadeshi raid. [4]
Technology[]
Despite being space-bound for millennia, never trading with others, and their reliance on cannibalizing and repurposing foreign ships for survival, the Kadeshi do posses advanced technology, even by the high standards of their home galaxy, surpassing most others. This means the Kadeshi must somehow posses the capacity to conduct original research and manufacture new things despite their total isolation, limited resources, and near nonexistent knowledge of foreign affairs. From what can be seen of their technology they, are, in some ways, second only to the Bentusi and by extension, the Progenitors especially in the fields of ion weaponry, as seen by their motherships mounting massively powerful ion cannons as well as their frigates mounting four, full-power ion cannons on its compact chassis, and even starship design; in contrast to the crude, blocky, ships of the Kushans, Kadeshi ship designs are more rounded and sleeker in build. For example, Kadeshi star-fighters far outmatch any strikecraft the Kushans can field in terms of sheer speed and damage, and the fighters are fast enough that Kushans consistently fail to hit them, with the Kushan pilots' comments in battle showing that they were astonished and frightened by their sheer speed. They also have developed hyperspace inhibitor technology integrated into their motherships.
Another interesting fact is that the Kadeshi also used their own hyperspace drives, which allowed them to travel across the nebula. These hyperdrives produced quantum wavefronts with an unusual red color.
Trivia[]
- For the majority of the series, the Kadeshi were never named and only treated as the "Protectors of the Garden". As of Homeworld Remastered, they have been officially named as the Kadeshi.
- For a long time, debate remained over the assumed extinction of the Kadeshi, with many speculating that others of their civilization continued to survive elsewhere in the nebula and from the fact that their annihilation was never conclusively confirmed. The second half of the description of the 8th mission mission in Homeworld Remastered campaign says: "The Kushan must fight their former brethren to the bitter end", further pointed at their extinction. Homeworld: Revelations finally settled the issue, revealing the Kadeshi survived.