Echoes without number (LoreDump)

S

Snowflake

Guest
1e2734d0a684ecee29c010759e9ba581.png

~~ Character Index ~~ OOC/Signups ~~ Map~~​

Comms

Communication within a system is not an issue as tightbeam(laser) tech allows for minimal latency meaning you can talk in real time with a person at the edge of the solar system, but not beyond. Intersystem communication works much like it did in the age of sail. You record your message in text or video format then send it off with postage. Any ship heading towards the system downloads a bulk of these encrypted messages and then unloads them as soon as they arrive. It is near impossible to hijack a message among the bulk and even if one could identify it cracking the encryption would require immense processing power that is simply uneconomical.​
With each planet sporting their own data protocols and no incentive to standardize this throughout the sector, travellers must pay expensive licencing fees to access the network of a particular world. Some planets simply deny access while others offer it freely though one must wonder why it is that they do that. It is possible to deploy a comm-server which provides a personal network in a 500km radius but the damn thing is huge and expensive so most travellers simply pay the fine or find less legal means of getting the protocols just so they could use a planet's internet and interface with their computers.​
Technology

Not every planet has recovered equaly, some found themselves unable to do so due to lack of knowledge or resources and remain stunded technologically.​
Tech Levels are a generalized rough nomenclature used to refer to technological progress that a certain planet can utilize. Note that a planet could house advanced tech but have no resources or knowledge to use it. It goes from zero to five and when logic fails to explain it common folk say that something is of Tech level six to avoid using the term 'magic' lightly. Abbreviated it is referred to as a TL followed by a number. As such​
  • TL0 represents neolith-level technology
    • TL1-Medieval Age​
    • TL2-Industrial Age​
    • TL3-Twenty-First Century​
    • TL4-Postech​
    • TL5-Pretech​
Ah yes, I see the confusion, Pos and Pre refer to the Scream, anything originating from before the Scream is referred to as Pretech and everything recovered from after the Scream is Postech. Obviously, the recovered tech is serviceable and usable but lacks the edge that Pretech, made during the Golden age of mankind, had. Postech gun may fire a laser but a Pretech gun will fire it twice as hot for half the energy and might even be able to fire around corners.​
Maltech

Maltech, a catch-all term used to refer primarily to technology or research that is likely to result in severe harm or destruction to humanity, Malicious Technology-Maltech. There are three rules that the Mandate instituted regarding Maltech.​
Thou shalt not make tools of humankind. Forbids any research or attempt to subvert the will and intellect of human minds through genetic manipulation​
Thou shalt not create unbraked minds. States that if one happens to develop a fully functioning AI they must immediately apply the proper "brakes" or intentional flaws in their programming before the AI develops immeasurable intellect and escapes all human control.​
Thou shalt not create devices of planetary destruction. Due to conventional gravitic breakers and nuke snuffers, it has become incredibly burdensome and difficult to develop and utilize planet killer weaponry. There are of course various ways to get around this problem and all are considered highly illegal by most if not all civilized worlds.​

Space Travel and Spike Drive

To travel from system to system there are certain conditions to be met. First one must have a functioning Spike Drive. This 'engine' is what powers the ship's movement not through thrust but by making it move across space by utilizing metadimensional forces. If it all sounds too complex that's because it is and no one knows how exactly it works except maybe the madman who first invented it. What you do need to know is that in order to travel to and from a system a strong enough gravitational constant is needed like a sun or a black hole. To leave a system you need only pilot to ship to the edge of the gravitational pull and plot a course to another one. Similarly one only enters the system from its edges, never within. This makes it easy to create ambushes and security checkpoints.​

Space travel, in the absence of proper charts and routes, is often more art than science. It takes six days to travel to the closest neighbouring system and half as long if the Spike Drive is of an upgraded rating, even shorter if it has been upgraded once more. Additionally higher rated spike drives are capable of travelling multiple units in one jump though the time is not halved in this case. Regardless of the Spike Drive or any added peripheral assistance, the most important aspect of space travel is the Pilot. When they take the helm and plot a course they choose between arriving where you should at half the time or popping out somewhere else with the entire ship blown up. From that point on the Spike Drive will shield the ship in a 'bubble' of sorts and ascend it into a metadimensional plane where chaotic currents will whisk it away. During this time the crew is free to interact on the ship but it is ill-advised to venture outside. Someone will have to oversee the navigational computer during the ride, often taking shifts, even a fool could do this so long as they don't panic and instead call the Pilot if something goes wrong.​




Psychic Disciplines

Telekinesis - The simplest and least extreme of the Psychic disciplines and as such is the one that is widely accepted without leers. As it is Telekinesis is often obvious to its use due to the shimmering and rarely colourful if translucent effect following it. There are limits as to how many independent objects a Psychic can manipulate simultaneously, often no more than four even for the best. That doesn't, however, stop the creative minds from being fiendish and using telekinesis to cause things to spontaneously combust, to puppeteer other folks or to provide themselves with armour and their companions with cover to hide behind. There is one caveat and that is an inability to simply crush the bodies of humans and other intelligent life forms such as VI and AI. It seems that sentience generates a form of barrier that certain powers cannot breach.​

Teleportation - It is hard to find a good teleporter, even harder to trap and catch them. Strongest teleporters can move between orbiting ships and any point on the planet's surface, provided they have an Anchor imbued with a bit of their effort aboard the ship. Weakest of them can move about 10 meters at best and only to areas they can see unaided or have visited previously. Teleporters can choose to leave parts of their gear and clothing behind though usually they take it along, this however makes it even harder to bind one down as they can simply teleport out of their handcuffs if they have the proper training. It becomes even more dangerous when they are able to sense open spaces without seeing them and teleport within ships and buildings blindly or when they can teleport others as well. Best teleporters can move up to 12 other people and their gear as well as teleport so fast that they avoid being shot or in turn move between their target and back before they victim has the time to react.​

Telepathy - The weakest of them can merely scratch the surface of a person's mind, they can only gleam into their current emotional state, but the best of them are so subtle there is a reason they are either exterminated with extreme prejudice or enlisted into black ops service. They can take deep dives to dig out information from unwilling victims, cause their minds to slow down their cognition, missing details in the process and so much more. The worst of them can alter a person's memories, up to 24hrs worth can be added, removed or changed. When all subtlety fails they can simply assault the person's mind and cause it to shut down and go out cold for an hour.​

Biopsionics - Another acceptable ability for Psychics to use, Biopsionics allow one to coerce the cells and body of the injured to heal faster. This unnatural healing is a lot like that gained from Stims and this cannot be done infinitely to any one body without natural rest in between. Strong Biopsions can purge bodies of toxins, cure illnesses and heal any injury even go so far as to revive a person who had their head blown off so long as they make it to them soon after they're killed. This ability can even regenerate limbs and cure nearly any physical defect. At their worst Biopsions can use their abilities in a negative way causing cancerous growths or altering and mutating themselves with natural weaponry, gills and other dangerous mutations. With DNA samples they can recreate a person's entire biometric signature passing any security as if they were the original. There have even been reports of Master Biopsions coming back to life about a month after had been killed and buried.​

Precognition - A bit of a mixed blessing, the ability to see the events to come might seem like something you cannot go wrong with but the truth is a bit more fluid. Something that was revealed soon after Precogs started showing up is that the future is not set in stone and that indeed the more you specify how a certain event is going to happen easier it becomes to derail it. All it takes is one domino and the whole future changes to another. For this reason, Precogs tend not to look too far or too specific. They get general info that helps them with their purposes and then they move on. Under fire Precogs do exhibit uncanny abilities to alter outcomes, when certain of a negative one a Precog simply looks to all the possibilities and tries to find one where the negative consequences do not happen. It does not work all the time, however. Somehow probability seems to have an odd meaning around a Precog, at a simplest level one can cheat at cards, but at the greatest entire prophecies can be told and fulfilled and the weirdest most uncanny coincidences can line up to give the Precog a favourable outcome.​

Metapsionics - A discipline that is absolutely invaluable when working with Psychics, this is what allows mentors to tutor young Psychics and let them experiment with their abilities without burning a hole in their skull. That, however, is not where their powers stop, most abilities are incapable of affecting machines such as VI or AI, it is hard to read a mind when it thinks in ones and zeroes, but metapsions seem to bridge that gap no problem. Not only that, but they are able to deflect, dampen and downright turn off other Psychic powers in their vicinity which makes them incredibly effective bodyguards. It is a discipline often used in conjunction with another to bring out its fullest potential.​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Planets

Sector Coordinates: 0002
System: Thras
Planet: Thindrapore

Atmosphere: Airless or thin atmosphere
Temperature: Cold
Biosphere: Immiscible
Population: Alien civilization
Tech Level: TL4+
Languages spoken: Pidgin Terran Mandate Common, Krarrith Native Tongue

Thindrapore from the get-go presents a challenge for human colonization, what with the thin atmo and low temperature. To make the matters worse most flora and fauna is simply incompatible with human biology either causing small allergic reactions at best or being extremely venomous or toxic. All those things could be dealt with if sufficient resources were applied however the biggest issue represents the Alien race that inhabits the planet. The Krarrith, are insectoids mimicking the bipedal form of humanoids but commonly sporting raptorial and fossorial limbs though any insect leg type can be found on the whole. The race fully sapient and capable of limited speech using Terran Mandate Common, the difference in vocal cords results in lots of clicking, screeching and hissing during speech and cultural differences often have them butchering the grammar. The surface of the planet is mostly barren except for the equatorial regions where dense boreal forests of evergreen trees are found. Krarrith live underground within their tunnels where they have built for themselves a whole planet worth of cities and nations all divided into tribes with slightly varying culture. Most of their technology, including weapons and ships, is semi-organic in nature and cannot interface with humans or indeed any other species except for Krarrith. Some efforts have been made to modify said equipment but it requires equal parts PhDs in Xenobiology, Medicine and Anatomy and Engineering. Krarrith are often incredibly hostile to foreigners and sometimes their own and despite the best efforts to understand them and their culture no real evidence exists to support they follow some comprehensible logic of when they attack or why. You could land on the planet and be met with fanfare as a foreign dignitary or you could be shot before you even get a single word out.​


Sector Coordinates: 0007
System: Coeds
Planet: Aberdeen

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Warm
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Several million
Tech Level: TL2
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Swedish

A mountainous world, like a big giant spikey ball of rock, ore, metal and factories. There is evidence to suggest it was once some form of a staging ground for war, perhaps a munitions factory, or weapons research facility. All that, however, has been locked away and forgotten after the Scream. What remains are hard-working men and women, colloquially known as Dwarves. Reaching the planet is incredibly hard even for the experienced pilots and so many doubt a whole planet of short and stout humans exists. They don't mind the moniker, they perpetuate it, especially ones that get off the 'rock'. Most of their lives are built around mining our ore, coal and gas as well as various other metals they cannot process themselves so they stock it and ship it off whenever a trader manages to reach them. Unfortunately, despite their planet being very hospitable, it is also incredibly hot due to strong geothermal activity and all their mining does bring with itself some dangerous. There are things trapped and forgotten deep within the earth and so they make sure to train their fighters and soldiers to provide protection and exterminate mutated pests. They have no real centralized government, but they follow a mostly communist policy with few administrators working in concert with what most assume to be an AI that calculates and determines the best employment for any one individual. Administrators know only how to maintain and interpret the commands of the 'God-Machine' but also wield executive power and so there is always struggle to become the next Admin of a bloc or city.​


Sector Coordinates: 0008
System: Zubrez
Planet: Kazimir

Atmosphere: Thick, breathable with pressure mask
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Several million
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Japanese

Ever since the new routes were charted to Kazimir a few decades back war raged across the planet's surface. The planet itself is gorgeous featuring all the expected biomes much like the Old Terra with the only exception being alien though perfectly safe biosphere and thick atmosphere. Beyond that life on Kazimir could be serene and peaceful if not for the two opposed factions. Up until Kazimir was linked through the charted shears with the rest of the sector the Imperials had an iron grip on the population by controlling the few TL4 factories they could maintain. Once the merchant ships started rolling in the silent faction that was waiting for its turn could finally acquire the resources to strike out and rebel but also fix up their own factories. From then on both sides started feeding the war machine and the only one who came out on top was Al-Sahaf Combine that sent their ships to trade with both sides and profit from the ever-escalating war. Now that Democrats and the Imperialists are trapped in a cold war holding back their greatest weapons and biggest armies in preparation for all-out annihilation. Neither dares make the first move and tensions grow ever higher on both sides.​


Sector Coordinates: 0104
System: Halviel
Planet: Maximos

Atmosphere: Invasive, toxic atmosphere
Temperature: Cold-Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Single domed city
Tech Level: TL2
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, French

It is an unfortunate state that the planet or rather the only city, Espoir, is forced to exist in. The invasive toxic gas eats away at the dome bit by bit causing it to often fail and blare automated alerts to which people respond the only way they know how. By putting on the few spare Vaccsuits they have and welding the breaches shut only to have to patch it up again in a week or so. Incapable of understanding the advanced technological compounds or systems that the dome is made from they have no clue how else to live but in constant fear that they might not wake up the next day. Few good samaritans show up every now and then trying to help but even they are at a loss on how to do so and in the end, the best they can do is let as many people as they can board their ship and head out. Some estimate that there is a way to reboot the domes automated systems and get it to do more than just spit out nutri-paste and life-support, though even that is failing as temperatures grow colder each year. Without intervention, it is estimated the planet will lose all human life within a decade at best.​


Sector Coordinates: 0107
System: Alcmedo
Planet: Gvarieldes

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Hundreds of millions
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Spanish

A most unusual thing. On the surface a Utopia, flawless world of minimal crime rate, peaceful existence and healthy economical and technological growth. Not only that but certain animals on the planet had been ascended in intellect to that of a human and are completely sapient and highly intelligent. The planet is ruled by a council of oligarchs whose policy so far had been to stay away from any major interplanetary factions and focus entirely on internal affairs, but just how much affairs a utopia could have is up in the air. Truth is, the planet has a disgustingly seedy underbelly, crime is rampant within the shadows but the public lives in a dazed almost stunted state making it easy to convince them everything is fine. Mafia, Swedish-Italian mob rules the underbelly organizing pit fights, often between people but sometimes between specially modified animals. The truth is that even the mob has no idea what really goes on around their planet. The real truth is that the animals have long since figured out how to use modern machinery and had stunted the mental development of the planet's natives. They are perfect blank slates for mind manipulation and the ones who really rule are not the men and women in power, but their animal companions that live alongside them. Ironically, due to Mafia being offworlders they are as of yet unaffected, their future generations, however, are likely to be as stunted as the natives are.​


Sector Coordinates: 0202
System: Leuthed
Planet: Rudenas

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Several million
Tech Level: TL3
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Swahili

Rudenas is unique in that it is the only planet that seems to work without any form of centralized governance and indeed most towns lack their own administration as well. People just seem to know what to do and don't require rules and regulations to tell them how or what. It tends to lean too much towards vigilante justice as well as dangerously close to frontier laws but somehow, in the end, people seem to understand inherently when something is deserving of such a punishment. If any 'Lawman' happens to go too far he too can be dealt with by his colleagues and so delicate balance is maintained, though oddly enough most of the time Lawmen are needed when dealing with other towns or offworlders. If Nietze was alive he would point to Rudenas as an example of what he was talking about, except for one thing. There are no psychics on Rudenas and anyone born a Psychic usually hides it well or finds themselves very swiftly eliminated. The closest thing to an authority on Rudenas is the Church of Free mind, not really a religion as much as a doctrine, they preach about living life completely free to be who or what you are though always taking care of others as well and letting them live their lives freely. It happened long ago that Rudenas came under siege by a Telepathic psychic who devastated the land and turned its own citizens against themselves. Church uses it to remind people of the consequences of letting strange and alien energies into your mind, mind that can then never be free from this outside touch.​


Sector Coordinates: 0205
System: Kaltzioul
Planet: Alma

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Cold-Temperate
Biosphere: No-Native (Imported)
Population: Several million
Tech Level: TL2
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common

Alma is a unique planet in the sector for more than one reason, but the most obvious one is that no one really knows if it is a planet or a massive space station. The surface seems to suggest it is in fact just a space station but no one had ever managed to crack it open and go inside to confirm. It has numerous docking bays ranging from Shuttle to Cruiser class ships and docking seems to be entirely automated and never fails. Once docked people are met with automated VI responses and basic expert systems for administration which let them know that the planet is a giant Virtual Reality simulation computer and they can visit it for free, a fact which is no longer valid as simply docking requires a fee with the UF customs. Accepting the terms visitors are placed inside stasis beds and their consciousness sent into a virtual reality construct mimicking a turn of the century frontier west. Their Monoblades turn to Bowie knives, their lasguns to revolvers and lever actions and their clothing and armour to time and region appropriate clothes. Strangely enough, the simulation is Virtual in the environment only and any and all damage seems to be transferred to the real body as well which is to say, dying in VR kills you in the real world. Similarly, the currency used within the environment is equal to the Terran Mandate Credits but now has a physical presence instead of simply being a number on your compad/credstick. The most unique part of the planet is that natives and those born on Alma are virtually immortal and don't age beyond the age of 30 unless they leave the safety of their virtual construct, then even upon returning they age at the same age as anyone else. Any attempt to crack open the planet results in advanced defence systems being deployed which often annihilate anyone before they get a chance to even cut through the surface which then gets repaired by yet another automated system.​


Sector Coordinates: 0208
System: Pandill
Planet: Gaffari

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Cold-Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Fewer than a million
Tech Level: TL2
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Indian (Hindi, Urdu)

Technically simplistic, Gaffari is incapable of disabling pretech defences that guard their planet and exterminate any and all arrivals with extreme prejudice. There are however few exceptions, Al-Sahaf often sends their own frigates aboard the planet and passes to and fro safely. Few other ships have managed to do so and those that have, know the secret is in the quantum communication codes. Upon arriving the planet sends out a code to which a quantum core of the ship's computer has to respond with the correct answer. This requires only a simple decoder to be plugged into the ship's computer and that is it. The problem is that such decoders are found on Gaffari and only a handful of ships can land on Gaffari. The second problem is figuring out where to find one such decoder as the populace has no clue what they are or where they are kept. Even if they did chances are they are too busy dealing with their own problems rather than waste time helping offworlders. Gaffari is the only other planet with a significant Psychic academical presence, much like Al-Sahaf it can train psychic to properly use their abilities but unlike Al-Sahaf it's isolation allows it to explore more esoteric and taboo aspects of MES powers. This often results in crises for the Gaffari people to deal with and so they developed a strong MetaPsionic and Telepath police to deal with extreme problems. While technically part of Al-Sahaf combine they only seem to benefit from it by shipping out their people off the planet. Their only other export is alcohol, exotic and rare due to their quarantined nature. A brand of Cognac that far surpasses anything else the sector has to offer, a bottle goes around for 50k creds at the least.


Sector Coordinates: 0303
System: Oni Naffari
Planet: Devaki

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Billions of inhabitants
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, French

The Capital, regional powerhouse and hegemon. The only planet with perfect conditions for living and a working space station that can assemble capital class ships. Devaki was the first to recover past Scream and was the first to rally everyone against the Raurich empire. With the Imperials gone Devaki established itself as the new norm, the new ruler of the core worlds. The Senate that rules over Devaki also rules over the entirety of the United Front. Nearly all planets in the sector have an ambassador present on Devaki and with all of them in one place it is easy to imagine the number of political schemes and conspiracies happening in the background. With most of the labour automated the folks of Devaki tend to be more technical as laborious work has given way to servicing and fixing of the machines that do it. Most cities were built up higher and higher giving sight to near endless skyscrapers all across the surface of the planet. Obviously, the planet is not without its natural beauty and plenty of national parks are preserved and maintained.​


Sector Coordinates: 0304
System: Mudni
Planet: Carretero

Atmosphere: Thin atmosphere (requires oxygen masks)
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Hybrid (While mostly miscible the planet has plenty of toxic and venomous lifeforms)
Population: Hundreds of millions of inhabitants
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, English

Being one of the most central planets and having nearly all routes go through it has benefited Carretero more than anyone else. It had become a trading powerhouse. The thin atmo makes it so all cities need to be encompassed in a force-field dome strong enough to hold the oxygenated air within. This does not obstruct aerial movement of birds or aircraft. governed by an intellectual elite called the Mandarinate the planet seems to always look for ways to improve it's position in the sector and is, for the most part, a safe place to live in. Much like any place, it has its crime problems, its hostile fauna and secretive organizations. On top of all that it is a prime location for corporations to exists and fight for power. biggest ones even have extraterritoriality rights on certain locations outside the city. On top of that all there is a strong hatred on Carretero for the Raurich empire and its citizens. Long-standing history of power abuse led to it but nowadays no one is innocent and oftentimes these groups end up being more racist than patriotic. Raurich empire having distinct eastern Asian heritage often results in Asians being discriminated on Carretero regardless of whether or not they were born there.​


Sector Coordinates: 0305
System: Ibalaso Urt
Planet: Nir

Atmosphere: Inert (requires Vaccsuits), Changing to Breathable
Temperature: Frozen, Changing to Temperate
Biosphere: No Native (Mutated/Preserved Terran)
Population: Three cities
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Finnish

Nir used to be a hellhole of frozen badlands and mutated people and animals skulking in the dark. Only three underground cities remain, Hel, Terminus and Van. Hel and Terminus were at conflict over religious disputes, or supposedly over them. Truth can get hard to read during combat. Shortly after the Scream the planet went insane and started to freeze over the surface becoming unlivable forcing people into specialized shelter underground. These shelters were connected through systems of railway tunnels like a large planetary metro. Unfortunately, when the disaster struck the two religious groups had two vastly different interpretations of the events. One aligning with Norse paganism said it was Ragnarok coming to clear away the planet and begin life anew, the other a group of zealous Neo-Christians saw it as a sign that apocalypse had arrived and it was time to end it all. In reality, the war started because someone greedy became a prominent figure and abused the power and authority, however as these events happened nearly 600 years ago the only thing that the two cities knew was to fight each other for reasons that no one cared to question. Van, the city of Elves, known precogs shut its gates and isolated itself from others. No one could find it and without war, they managed to maintain their city rather than letting it fall into disrepair. Recently the conflict had been resolved with the fall of Terminus. Reforms are happening in both cities and Van finally opened up its gates having waited for years for this event to come true. Not only is the planet recovering socially but the very air and temperature are stabilizing as if to mark a beginning of a new age for Nir. All these changes happened as a result of a new company taking roots on Nir, one by the name of Diogen55 with its goal to bring Nir back on the Map and to 'Bring Ragnarok into your home.'​


 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sector Coordinates: 0405
System: Vilizad
Planet: Masood

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Several million
Tech Level: TL3
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Italian

Up until 3200-06-01 Masood had been part of the United Front although its own governance was a Monarchy. Those who disagreed with the system fought against it with the help of offworlder group that identified itself as Wendigo and had managed to successfully seize the throne by killing the King and certain high ranking nobles. With everything prepared ahead of time, all that had to happen was for someone to suggest they become a republic and the rest agreed out of fear of being eliminated. Masood being an Ocean world means that all of its cities are afloat on massive floating islands. These leviathans are surprisingly well maintained but signs of them breaking down are still present, though subtle. deepest parts of the ocean remain unexplored and many theorize there exists a whole treasure trove of tech down there. For the most part, Masood could pass for a TL4 planet if only they could craft energy weaponry and basic spaceships. They lack the factories for it and many hope something can be brought up from the depths to change the situation. There is a little-known fact about Masood and that is a school of Mentats hidden away at the floating island supposedly dedicated to the Christian church. These Mentats or 'human-computers' are men and women who are trained from the moment they become self-aware to always be analyzing everything around them, to turn their brains into processors that create predictions. Women are often found to exhibit incredible social skills while men become more distant and cold but incredibly accurate to matters regarding facts and numbers. Their skills were invaluable to converting Masood from a Monarchy to a Republic, but that is a story no one will tell you for only a mere handful of people know about it.​



Sector Coordinates: 0407
System: Limeda
Planet: Al-Sahaf

Atmosphere: Thin (requires Vaccsuit)
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Fewer than a million
Tech Level: TL4+
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Arabic

The capital of Al-Sahaf Trade Combine and home to the strongest Psychic academy in the sector. With Gaffari quarantined Al-Sahaf ends up as the only viable choice for young psychics to learn how not to fry their heads. Trading guilds rule the planet and regulate highly monopolized or oligopolized trade. Unlike Carretero who domes their entire city, Al-Sahaf simply connects their buildings and air-locks them to ensure the place is livable. Most traffic by foot happens in the underground where the natural sun is redirected through specialized crystal cells to form livable and breathable underground forests and parks for people to enjoy. Above ground, most buildings are only there for business that is handled with offworlders and that is often trade and mercantile. The surface of the planet seems almost barren and lifeless under the solar heat, but life found a way to exists beneath it even before humans settled the world. There are often problems with unlicensed psychics practising their gifts freely in the streets and it is something that is handled seriously on Al-Sahaf, but there is an even bigger problem of a substance called Psyche that has an uncanny ability to gift non-MESes with special Psychic gifts, some of which are near impossible to develop by even the best of Psychics. Unfortunately this Highly Illegal Stim tends to burn out a Psychic right away and cause them to go Feral in an instant.​


Sector Coordinates: 0409
System: Juka Ratanav
Planet: Plato

Atmosphere: Inert (requires oxygen mask)
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Microbial
Population: Fewer than a million
Tech Level: TL2
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Egyptian Arabic

Plato is a planet that part from humans seems to sport no life at all and yet somehow the natives have lived on it for a long time before Al-Sahaf showed up and claimed the planet as one of their staging grounds. The natives themselves are odd looking, slightly altered in very obvious ways with unique skin discolouration and other more subtle changes such as allowing them to survive without the need for air as well as altered metabolism to subside out of nothing but microbial lifeforms found in their primordial waters. They are not in great numbers and have long since lost the idea of what their planet looks like, most let this adventurous spirit fester until it takes them over and they rush out into the world trying to uncover more lost knowledge and history. many of them are excellent swimmers and divers and are also extremely empathetic which is likely why they have little to no crime in their cities. They work hard to bring food to every household and have some laws regarding population control but besides that, they are not in any way governed by any authority. Most of their planet remains unused by them and so Al-Sahaf brought them into the combine by creating a staging ground for more ships to be built but aside from protection from outside hazards and raiders there is not much going on here to make it an interesting locale and yet... Many swear that there is ancient pretech located somewhere on the planet, after all the people couldn't mutate on their own, most likely there is some sort of a eugenics facility hidden on the planet.



Sector Coordinates: 0505
System: Aldega
Planet: Saumya

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Temperate-Warm
Biosphere: No native (Preserved Terran biosphere)
Population: Billions of inhabitants
Tech Level: TL2
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, English

Pre-Scream, Saumya was known as a terrifying beastial planet, a world of ferocious Wulfen Warriors who used dread and terror itself as a weapon. Since then, however, they had 600 years to develop their society as a whole and having never been able to head out into space they suppressed their warrior instincts and took to advancing their own culture. because of this most find it above them to even consider fighting and would rather remain on Saumya engaging in utter Bacchanalian decadence but not all. Some remember the wars, not personally of course. It is like a genetic memory, an instinct that pulls them out and onward to head out and sink their teeth into the enemy, whoever it may be. They respect strength and honour real and true loyalty, once sworn to a duty a Wulfen will carry it out, be it finishing a painting or bleeding the enemy dry. They have a Queen to rule over them, but they have avoided wars for so long they have grown content with the status quo and even the crime rate has dropped significantly. Apart from those who refuse to conform to the peaceful lifestyle, there appear to be no problems, that is until someone tastes blood, then there is no telling what might happen. The people tend to have very gothic apparel despite their anthropomorphized wolf bodies and have almost entirely recreated the Victorian era fashion and architecture. Anthropologists are baffled as to how they decided to mimic that point in human history.​



Sector Coordinates: 0601
System: Markezour
Planet: Hera

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Temperate-Warm
Biosphere: Immiscible
Population: Hundreds of millions
Tech Level: TL2
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Cantonese

Hera was and still is a Raurich Empire owned planet. The place is essentially a massive gulag for the dissidents who are forced into hard labour or killed. Those exiled there have doomed themselves to a life of hard thankless work on a dangerous nightmare of a world. The planet is in constant darkness and yet the temperature is livable and can even become incredibly hot. There are strong geothermal activities all over the planet and oftentimes they end up killing thousands of unlucky miners. To make it worse there are beasts there that have evolved to be apex predators and hunt down people like they are prey. Raurich Empire doesn't concern itself with how it happens, they expect a certain quota of minerals and ore to be moved to the right places for shipping and if that is not done on a weekly basis they stop shipping enough food and water for the inhabitants. This would likely not be a problem if the planetary system wasn't run by gangs of warlords who hoard the resources and work the weaker people to the bone so a handful of them don't have to do anything. With nothing else to do the weak just keep on toiling away until they inevitably die in a horrible accident or are murdered by someone or some-thing.​



Sector Coordinates: 0602
System: Nacippe
Planet: Freya

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Temperate-Warm
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Hundreds of millions
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Cantonese

New Capital of the Raurich Empire, it is every bit of an industrial powerhouse as it was back before the Emperor was exiled here. The atmosphere may be breathable but that may not last, pollution has skyrocketed ever since the Empire started working on a new project. A massive battlestation capable of manufacturing ships in days rather than months. Endless resourced have been funnelled into it and even more is being wasted on it all the while the most crucial part is still missing. They will need a spike drive capable of moving an entire station, a near impossible feat and yet they are confident they will be able to do it. Most of the citizens work towards finishing this project one way or the other. They are incredibly loyal and zealous with merely a fraction silently resisting so as not to be labelled traitors and sent off to Hera. It is safe to say they are wary of offworlders and that's assuming they even let them land and don't attack them on sight.​


Sector Coordinates: 0606
System: Mahni
Planet: Cocos

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Warm
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Alien civilization
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Mearian Native Tongue

Cocos is a desert world, one of the entirely hostile environment in every conceivable way. Fauna and even some flora here seems almost designed to hurt, wound or murder anything that approaches it. The worst of all are the massive worms the size of a small spaceship, that burrow through the earth causing tremors and massive landslides easily devouring even tanks. On top of all that, there is a race of reptilian aliens named the Mearins. They are seemingly incapable of human speech and even if they would they would likely treat humans with the same amount of aggression as they do currently. They are highly intelligent but are trapped in a cultural struggle and spend most of their time fighting each other leaving them unable to deal with human threats. Oftentimes the arriving adventurers can leverage the power struggle to their advantage, more often however they are the ones who end up being leveraged. It is no secret that Cocos was one of Mandate's sandbox planets where they twisted life as much as possible in pursuit of some form of greatness. There is bound to be something left over for the daring adventurers.​


Sector Coordinates: 0608
System: Halia
Planet: Svala

Atmosphere: Thick (requires a pressure mask)
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Immiscible
Population: Several million inhabitants
Tech Level: TL4+
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common

A cyborg planet, one where every citizen is a cyborg featuring some kind of cyber or bioware. The atmosphere being what it is people would have to go around wearing special clunky masks, Svalans instead chose differently and implanted everyone with special breathing apparatus that simply handles all the effects of a mask without any obvious change to the body structure. It is possible to change entire limbs and organs for superior parts at will, albeit for a price on Svala. The only caveat is that those built for fighting and killing are often locked until the person leaves Svala. Man and machine live side by side on Svala and often the line gets blurry between which is which. There are extremely cybered up men and women who seem to act as cold as a piece of steel and such lifelike VI companions you could swear there is a person controlling them. With the peak of cybernetic technology also comes the next step in transhumanism. All Svalans are linked into a hive mind, like having one's mind linked to the global network except faster and better. The AI 'Kupala' insists this linking does not affect individuality and indeed those who leave Svala seem to be the same regardless of whether or not they are linked to the collective, however, no one knows accurately if Kupala is unbreaked or not and whether or not it might go insane one day.​


Sector Coordinates: 0609
System: Chanos
Planet: Ara

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Cold
Biosphere: Human miscible
Population: Fewer than a million
Tech Level: TL4
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, Russian

Originally it was a simple base for a group of mercenaries, no more than a stockade for them to load up before they head out, a place to return to at the end of a job. The elite fighters were renown for never letting anyone come close to making planetfall on their planet without permission, not only that but also eliminating any and all planetary threats with surgical precision. This reputation brought an influx of civilians to the planet that set up an entire colony around the mercenary base. It wasn't hard to please the spacers, all they really need is cheap booze, some form of companionship and a place to call home. Ara is by reputation a pirate's haven but in reality, she is a tightly knit colony of interpersonal relationships. The mercs, Iron Hawks, do let almost anyone land nowadays but they keep a close watch on any offworlders. There is no centralized governance in a traditional sense and so people find ways to coexists though basic human decency. The planet has only two seasons, Snowfall and Aurora. Half of the year there are constant snowfalls as the name might suggest and the other half the skies are clear showing off gorgeous auroras dancing across the skies.​


Sector Coordinates: 0704
System: Callani
Planet: Malti

Atmosphere: Breathable
Temperature: Cold-Temperate
Biosphere: Engineered
Population: Hundreds of millions
Tech Level: TL4+
Languages spoken: Terran Mandate Common, German

A planet with an abundance of all resources and materials. However, it is not as simple to live there. No matter what it is whether it be simply asking for a new brand of milk or wanting a new house you have to jump through endless hoops of bureaucracy before you even get considered for such an upgrade. Trade is similarly restricted to a point of making all traders leave in frustration long before their products have been cleared for export. On top of it all, Malti has a military as strict as their administration. Paired with advanced pre-Tech defences they are near impossible to assault effectively or without incurring massive losses. For these reasons, they are often ignored and shunned. This is perfectly fine for Malti and their republic government. They would rather focus on maintaining their strict way of life than mess with an unstable sector.​


Sector Coordinates: 0707
System: Gan
Planet: Iserlohn

Atmosphere: Corrosive and invasive
Temperature: Burning
Biosphere: Remnants
Population: None
Tech Level: TL5
Languages spoken: N/A

Dangerous thing, hostile as can get. Just making planetfall is a challenge in and of itself and then you are on a constant timer to get in and out before your vaccsuit and your ship melts down under the strain of the burning corrosive atmosphere. So why would you ever think of going there? Because planets like these hide the greatest treasures and strangest artefacts.​

 
Last edited by a moderator: