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, welcome to Naval Adventure 1 : Shakedown Cruise

04:54, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Library:

Posted by NerullFor group 0
Nerull
GM, 69 posts
Wed 29 Jul 2020
at 14:17
  • msg #1

Library:

The WORLD TOUR!

Zeng (A426446-C)

Zeng is a fairly unremarkable world; dry but habitable, with a modest population and a moderate democratic government. Its importance is primarily as the seat of the Duchy of Zeng, whose economic capital is the large and well-appointed orbital starport.

Most people with business at Zeng conduct it at the highport; a smaller proportion visit the extensive downport and fewer still venture out into the cities of the world. The port is extremely busy, seeing a constant flow of ships passing up and down the subsector’s central main. There is also a noticeable Imperial Navy presence at the port and nearby.

The Imperial Navy maintains a base in the Zeng system, which caters mainly to destroyer- class vessels assigned to patrol operations within the subsector. Visits by larger ships are not uncommon, but the base is geared to smaller vessels. A destroyer is normally stationed close to the starport at Zeng as a guardship, though this is a courtesy rather than a formally ordered deployment.

Naval uniforms are a common site in the starport, and the business community is generally friendly to naval personnel. A uniform or naval ID is required to get into some of the starport bars, and combat ribbons will usually earn a discount on drinks and meals. Many of
the larger businesses depend on ‘navy money’ and are typically positive towards the Imperium and her armed forces. As a result Zeng is a popular place to take liberty or furlough time. The population of its orbital port includes many navy veterans or their families.

Sestos (D5A6878-8)

Sestos lies at the spinward end of the Zeng subsector’s mains and sees little traffic other than jump-2 ships headed across Gulf subsector. It is an unpleasant world, with an exotic atmosphere and oceans composed of complex diluted compounds. It is these that brought people to Sestos in the past; its chemical extraction and processing plants required a large population to operate them and provide supporting industries, which in turn led to a diversified and stable economy.

Today, Sestos is balkanised in the sense that its large city-states are all self-governing. There is little population outside the cities; just a few agricultural complexes. Some of these use sealed environments to grow edible crops; others produce some quite exotic plants which are edible to most intelligent species. Meat is rare on Sestos as it is difficult to produce, and thus extremely expensive.

Mtensc (D551454-8)

A dry world with a thin atmosphere, Mtensc provides a jump-2 link between Zeng subsector and Trin’s Veil (to spinward) and Vestus (to rimward). It is very much a ‘port town’, with the entire population of a few thousand dwelling around the very basic starport and mostly dependent upon it for their livelihood. There is little industry or economic activity on Mtensc, though occasionally prospectors head out into the wilderness to seek their fortune.

Fuel and water for all other purposes are obtained by drilling into a large aquifer under the port-town. Its presence was the reason for siting the port where it is. In recent years there have been concerns that the aquifer is drying up, and the world’s ruling council has repeatedly petitioned the Duke of Zeng for funding to develop additional water sources. Thus far this has produced little more than a small scientific team who conduct research into the situation and possible remedies.

Iruku (B31048A-9)

As one of the possible jump-2 links from Trin’s Veil subsector, Iruku received considerable investment and development of its orbital starport. The orbital component of the port is a more or less self-contained environment, with a small and under-equipped downport planetside. There is little traffic to and from the surface; Iruku Highport receives most of what it needs from beyond the star system, paid for with revenue generated by commerce at the port.

Although the ‘mainworld’ of the system, Iruku itself is almost an irrelevance; a convenient gravity well for the highport and little more. Its population of fifty thousand or so are almost entirely concentrated at the downport, with a few small outposts scattered elsewhere across the planetary surface.

Iruku has little industry other than a small own-needs production capability based on mining in nearby areas. Offworld minerals corporations have thus far showed little interest in this backwater rockball, and official data suggests that there are few useful deposits of minerals or metals. This has not prevented the usual hopeful prospectors from searching from time to time.

Taman (E874300-5)

Taman lies just off the jump-2 route across the middle of Gulf subsector. It is a habitable enough world, with sufficient water and a breathable, if tainted, atmosphere. For many years Taman was on the Reserve List, not interdicted as such but not open for colonisation. The intent seems to have been to wait until sufficient investment was available to create a colony that could quickly develop into an asset to the local economy. That never happened, and attempts to obtain permission to colonise the world on a smaller budget fell victim to the cross-cutting politics of the region.

As a result, Taman’s official population consists of a few hundred people dwelling in a single town which forms the estate of House Vielnaa. House Vielnaa is a very minor – and distinctly impoverished – Imperial noble family who have been assigned to Taman as an ‘emplaced resident population’. This translates from legalese into Anglic as meaning the noble family and their staff are on Taman to provide an official population – and thereby delegitimise any attempt to unofficially colonise the world and claim squatters’ rights – but they are not recognised as ‘owning’ the world in the same way as a true local population and government would.

This complex arrangement means that the unofficial colonies that have been set up on Taman cannot claim to the only, and therefore ‘official’, population of the world. These colonies are small, with a total population of around eight thousand people and an average tech level of 5. Some are friendly to House Vielnaa, but in most cases the communities just ignore one another. The ‘port’ at Taman is a landing field at the only officially present settlement. There is no body of law as such, but the site is policed by House Vielnaa troops who have little tolerance for thievery and violence. There is virtually no industry, but the settlement has access to offworld equipment and is kept resupplied by ships from Trin. In short, ‘the town on Taman’ as it is described in a popular drinking song, is populated by people who are paid to be there just so that nobody else can claim the planet.

Nouakchat (C532114-6)

Dry, with a very thin atmosphere, Nouakchat is virtually uninhabited other than the staff of the small starport. This is run by the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service, and has a slightly larger orbital component than most Class C ports. A handful of unstreamlined Scout Service vessels are usually moored there – typically lab ships and survey scouts – whilst streamlined vessels typically land at the downport.

The only permanent residents of Nouakchat are the employees of the Nouakchat Corporation, a private firm that handles brokerage and commercial activities at the port. Most technical tasks are subcontracted to the Scout Service, and come second to ensuring the small scout base at the port remains functional. Jump-2 ships normally bypass Nouakchat, transiting
between the much better ports at Iruku and Tuwayk. Those vessels that do come through find little worth staying for; Nouakchat is a scout base that serves as a starport from time to time, and is not set up for entertaining guests or conducting major trade deals. What little profit is made by the port goes to offsetting the cost of the base and its personnel.

Tuwayk (0339) B672843-A

Lying just within the area of interest of Trin, Tuwayk is a backwater world of importance mainly for its starport. One of the standard jump-2 routes into Trin and thereby Spinward Marches sector runs through the port, though it could not really be said to pass through the world itself. The port acts as a local trade hub, but Tuwayk does not export much and thus benefits little other than from revenue generated by port operations.

The world itself is very dry and extremely hot, with an indigenous ecosystem hostile to humans and most imported species. Attempts at a ‘soft terraforming’ by way of introducing algae and similar primitive life that – hopefully – would eventually supplant the local species have been decisively defeated by the resilient and even aggressive ecosystem of Tuwayk.

Tuwayk is very much a backwater, but within its cities at least it is a comfortable one. Harsh conditions outside are counterpointed by luxurious if rather bland climatecontrolled
living areas. There really is no ‘local’ culture as such; society is very much Imperial-standard and influenced mainly by what is ‘in’ at Trin. Trin also exerts considerable political and economic influence over Tuwayk, offering subsidies or reduced prices on necessary goods in return for continued loyalty. Normally few strings are attached but the world government controls the starport, and occasionally it may be useful to throw a few obstacles in the way of a rival. At these times, quietly having control over port operators can be a useful tool in making a shipping operator or business group’s activities in the region that little more costly and frustrating.

Beaxon (D88AA99-C)

Beaxon is a high-population water world, with around 90 billion people crammed into its cities. These are mostly built in shallow water, with the upper parts of large buildings poking above the waves. There are few structures on land; most of the available flat areas are used for intensive agriculture.

The world has been Amber Zoned for some time now, due to its internal troubles. The huge population are subject to fairly strict laws, but enforcement is a problem and there is significant unrest as well as organised and opportunistic crime. This has affected economic output; Beaxon was once a significant exporter or fairly high-tech goods but production has gradually slumped. As corruption and the general disruption of production increased, the price of Beaxon goods kept pace. Today, Beaxon’s exports are known for being overpriced and not very good… assuming they get shipped out at all.

Beaxon’s starport, never extensive, has deteriorated to the point where it is now designated as Class D. Sections remain derelict and more-or-less sealed off, though local gangs are able to use them to stash goods or hide from pursuit. The cost of returning the port to its proper status increases as systems are illegally stripped for salvage, and although the port authority makes token efforts to patrol the derelict sections it is clear that the situation is not likely to improve.

Noghon (D79798B-8)

Noghon’s dense, if tainted, atmosphere and presence of plenty of water made it an attractive candidate for early colonisation and development. The original colony was set up as an agricultural base, and was intended to become a breadbasket for expansion in the region. Although the atmospheric taint gives food raised on Noghon a slightly odd taste, most people find it strange but not unpleasant, and the world’s agricultural exports were sufficient to fund the development of its industries. Today, Noghon is primarily known as an exporter of decent quality mid-tech goods. Its food production is still extensive, but the growing population absorbed an increasing proportion until exports dwindled to almost nothing. A few luxury items such as wines are still exported, commanding a surprisingly high price for what is essentially a novelty item rather than particularly good wine. Again, the world’s atmospheric taint affects the taste, creating something unique but not especially pleasing.

Noghon has two starports. The ‘general’ one receives little traffic and is rather basic, hence its D rating. There is a better port but it is off-limits to all vessels other than contracted freighters carrying the world’s goods to market. This commercial port is set up for bulk freight handling only and cannot accommodate tourists or passengers. Nor does any commerce or speculative trade take place there; the ships that use it already have a contract in place. Everyone else is directed to the general port.
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