Old Families

The Old Families, the descendants of the commanders of the Nagglfar, were the dynastic ruling families of Tarsonis.

Famous Old Families included the Calabas and Kusinis families, along with the Dukes (of which General Edmund Duke was a member), Terras and Tygores. The Mengsk family were former members as well. They were distinguished by their accent (a drawl).

Overview
The Old Families maintained businesses and had representation on multiple worlds. They were largely immune to all but the most important laws and knew the secrets of the Confederate Council. Many members of the Old Families married members of other families in order to forge a stronger genetic and financial union. As these weren't love matches, both parents generally had mistresses and "jigs" and offspring were produced through artificial insemination. Gender roles were strictly split; for instance, the wife would be the "head of the household" while the husband would be in charge of security.

The Old Families had the "right" to "advise" the democratically elected government of the Confederacy on a variety of issues, which the government could accept or reject.

Through a combination of force, guile and corruption, the Old Families maintained their position through control of the media and the economy. A common business tactic among the Old Families was forming "loss-leading" companies on fringe worlds, driving their competitors out of business, then increasing prices on necessities. The Old Families both competed and cooperated economically, in order to maintain their influence over the Confederate government and its citizens.

Every year, the Old Families held a "Reunion", an interplanetary summit of Old Family representatives, after a week of ceremony and celebration. They would discuss the economy and governance with the Confederate government. In 2488 the Reunion was held in Tarsonis City.

Old Family members, especially young children, were potential targets for kidnapping, but the residents of Tarsonis City were well aware of the risks that such an act would involve. In this regard, Old Family interaction with the public varied, some families "giving face" to paparazzi, while others remaining low-key. In regards to transportation, Old Families could either clear their way through traffic in a heavily armored convoy with sirens blazing, or use modified, yet average looking vehicles that could blend in with the traffic around them.

History
The Old Families were descendants of the original commanders of the Nagglfar and have run things from the year "naught." Upon settling on Tarsonis, the Families made law and order a priority, establishing a police force and creating headquarters for them out of the remains of the Nagglfar.

When Moria and Umoja refused to join in a conglomerated government, the Old Familes responded by expanding their military and colonizing more aggressively. They formed the Terran Confederacy.

Economic Dominance
In the decades leading up to the Guild Wars, the Confederate Armed Forces were frequently used to steal mining claims away from miners affiliated with the Kel-Morian Combine. The claims would then be transferred to an Old Family-controlled company.

Many Old Families became even more wealthy as their companies supplied the Confederate military during the Guild Wars. An added bonus was that since UNN was more occupied with covering the events of the war, there were fewer investigations into their economic dealings.

The Old Families became more avaricious and corrupt as they built their personal fortunes and vied for more power. When discontent and outright insurgency built up across the Confederacy, they responded with increasingly violent measures to keep the colonies in line, culminating in the nuclear decimation of Korhal when it attempted to secede from the Confederacy.

The Great War
"Pretty easy gig for you, guarding these teens. These are not your average teens."

- A servant and security guard discussing their wards.

After the fall of the Sara System, the Old Families, under a plan developed by Arturro Calabas, began sending their scions to a resort on Tyrador IX on the yacht Padraig. To the public, this would be under the pretense of giving their children a vacation, but in reality it was to protect them from rebel and alien attacks. Their departure reduced the number of casualties when the Families were attacked by Cliff Nadaner's terrorists. The exception was the Terra Family where a spy was working in the household. The Terra heads and son were killed alongside several servants, but the terrorists were in turn wiped out by a psionic outburst from the youngest daughter, November.

The Last Stand
The Old Families were largely wiped out during the Fall of Tarsonis. Sons of Korhal forces impeded the protoss from attacking the zerg, who in turn destroyed the Families' power base.

The Old Family scions at Tyrador IX, along with their security contingent, were contacted by Arturro Calabas. He ordered them to activate "Plan Razor", which would send the scions to Shi, the fourth planet of the "The Baker's Dozen", a series of mining worlds owned by Calabas.

A secretive transport dropped a zerg drone on Shi, infesting the planet. Eventually the zerg wiped out the Old Family security forces and the Padraig fled, leaving just the scions. They attempted to use mining lasers to fight back, but were nearly all killed. Only four scions survived: Morgan Calabas, Antonia Tygore, and Bess and Rockham Kusinis. In 2501, on approximately the anniversary of the Fall of Tarsonis and the ascension of Arcturus Mengsk as emperor of the Terran Dominion, a ghost training team, including Nova Terra and Gabriel Tosh, was dispatched to The Baker's Dozen. Intercepting the distress call, the ghosts defeated the zerg and rescued the heirs. However, Arcturus Mengsk personally ordered the ghosts to be memory wiped of the incident and the heirs handed over to the marines and secretly executed. Only an injured Tosh escaped the wipe procedure. The deaths of the heirs were then "confirmed" to have occurred on Tarsonis.

Membership
''Main article: Old Family members

Known Old Family members and families include:

Bennet Family
The Bennet Family owned Bennet Industries, which was involved in shipping. They avoided drawing attention to themselves and resided in a massive mansion
 * Ark Bennet (left the family)
 * Errol Bennet (head of the family)
 * Lisa Bennet (wife of Errol)
 * Tara Bennet (family heir)

Brubaker Family
The Brubaker family owned Brubaker Holdings, which manufactured rifles during the Guild Wars.
 * Honorable Cornelius Brubaker

Calabas Family

 * Arturro Calabas (head of the family)
 * Morgan Calabas (family heir, hid on Shi, executed by the Dominion)

d'Arbanville Family
No known members

Duke Family

 * Edmund Duke (became a Terran Dominion general, deceased)
 * Garth Duke
 * Gregory Duke
 * Esmerelda Ndoci (through marriage, became a Dominion major)

Falco Family
The Falco Family owned one of the smaller shipping lanes of Confederate space and was a less prominent family than others. In 2488, there was talk of an arranged marriage between Hailey Falco and Ark Bennet. Such a merger would allow them to keep their independence, and also grant them a larger voice in Old Family affairs.

Holt Family
The Holt Family owned Holt Enterprises.
 * Ava Holt (matriarch)

Kusinis Family
The Kusinis family owned the Kusinis Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Tarsonis City. Known members include:
 * The Kusinis Twins
 * Bess Kusinis (took shelter on Shi; executed by the Dominion)
 * Rockham Kusinis (took shelter on Shi; executed by the Dominion)
 * Milo Kusinis
 * Clara Terra (through marriage to Milo Kusinis)

Mengsk Dynasty

 * Main article: Mengsk Dynasty

The Mengsk Dynasty turned against the Terran Confederacy. Valerian Mengsk was never recognized as a member of the Old Families.
 * Augustus Mengsk
 * Angus Mengsk
 * Katherine Mengsk
 * Arcturus Mengsk
 * Dorothy Mengsk

Members

 * Constantino Terra
 * Annabella "Bella" Terra
 * Clara Terra (married to Milo Kusinis)
 * November "Nova" Terra (became a Dominion ghost)
 * Zebediah "Zeb" Terra

Servants and Associates

 * Eleftheria (Constantino's mistress)
 * Lia Emmanuel (business associate)
 * Mr. Sim (kitchen staff supervisor)
 * Borris
 * Bryan
 * Derek
 * Dorris
 * Maia
 * Marco
 * Natale
 * Edward Peters (Bella's jig)
 * Rebeka
 * Pip (a Siamese cat)
 * Walter
 * Yvonne

Tygore Family

 * Andrea Tygore (matriarch)
 * Amelie Tygore
 * Antonia Tygore (Andrea's granddaughter, executed by the Dominion)
 * Emmett Tygore (exiled to Halcyon)

Other
It appears that Charlie Quinn and Thérèse were Old Family members, as they were at least certainly associated with them. If this is the case however, it is unknown which Old Families they belong to. Senator Westyn MacMasters may have been a member. Dhupal, Keys, and Roderick were known Old Family scions sent to Tyrador IX. They were slain by invading zerg at the Baker's Dozen's fourth world of Shi.