Starport: Class X
Diameter: 1978 Miles
Atmosphere: Very Thin with trace amounts of Ammonia
Surface Water: 22% Water Ice
Climate: Very Cold
Population: 0
Government: None
Law Level: None
Tech Level: None
Noscius is the only free world in an otherwise sparse red dwarf binary system. The companion star
orbits Herrenvolk, the primary, at a distance of 3.0 AUs, leaving few orbits for worlds to
otherwise develop. A single massive gas giant and a pair of carbon chondrite asteroid belts are
found orbiting beyond the companion star, leaving Noscius alone in the inner system. The world has
a small 500 km moon known only as Vagrant's Home, and is thought to be a piece of Noscius blasted
into space about a billion years ago by a massive interplanetary collision.
The world was first discovered by Vargr explorers around -1230, though these and their successors
saw little reason to settle or exploit the world. Few minerals are present, the local biosphere
consists primarily of hardy lichens and single cell algae analogs trapped in the rock faces, and
the system contains very little in the way of heavy metals or bulk organics required by industry.
The colony that did develop here grew up around the local starport, which did brisk business
servicing traders travelling between the Third Imperium and nearby Vargr states. The Imperium
officially claimed the world, mostly to protect its more valuable cololy on nearby Filangger
(Deneb 2001).
This colony was populated mostly by transients from the Extents, and these included the worst
criminals and border trash. It was a well known fact that various Corsair groups used the system
as a waystation for reconnaissance teams casing potential targets on the Imperial side of the
border. The IISS and Imperial Navy tried at various times to havethis illegal inflow stamped out,
only to be stymied by several major Imperial Megacorporations, principally Tukera and Hortalez et
Cie. Post-Rebellion evidence shows that these companies used these corsairs and "border coyotes"
as agents and emissaries with various Vargr powers in pursuit of their own commercial and
political interests. The lawlessness that they encouraged finally prompted the Traveller's Aid
Society to declare the world an Amber Zone in 1071.
The Assemblage of 1116 captured the world during the same campaign that netted Filangger, though
they considered garrisoning almost as an afterthought. With so much plundering and raiding
occuring elsewhere the local scum pulled out, and the loss of Imperial trade nearly bankrupted the
port. The few hundred souls that remained were mostly mercenaries between contracts, or pillage
teams resting between raids. Most of the plunder taken from the Domain of Deneb passed through
other ports, and the world catered mainly to either rookies or has-beens.
Surprisingly, the world suffered no casualties from the Collapse. The lack of traffic and the
dilapidated state of the local infrastructure prevented Virus from reaching the system until after
it had virtually destroyed most of the Extents. When word came that the Dzaargh Federate had been
annihilated, the transient population fled for safer worlds or the Regency Frontier. An RQS watch
team destroyed the starport and settlement with high explosives, and the world has no useful
salvage.
Gounuerz/Antra (Deneb 2202)
Starport: Class X
Diameter: 2366 Miles
Atmosphere: Very Thin
Surface Water: 50% Water Ice
Climate: Frozen
Population: 0
Government: None
Law Level: None
Tech Level: None
Another sparse system consisting of two frozen worlds and a stony asteroid belt. Gounuerz was
never claimed by the Third Imperium, and few Vargr powers bothered to trifle with such a poor
world. The mainworld itself was bitterly cold (around -180 degress Celsius) and possessed some
exploitable diamond deposits found deep in extinct volcanic vents that line the world's middle
latitudes. These deposits are small, and can only be extracted with labor intensive operations.
The entire 1117 population consisted of such miners, organized into work gangs by the more
charismatic Vargr, to extract these sparkling stones under sealed atmospheric domes.
Vargr corsairs would sometimes shake down the miners for protection money, the latter paying in
raw diamonds. Many corsairs came to rely upon this hard currency as a means of exchange outside of
the unreliable economies of nearby Vargr states, and the world soon accumulated several allied
bands willing to defend it against outside aggression. Eventually the locals accumulated enough
capital to build a B-class starport, which was regularly patronised by corsairs who needed repairs
and maintenance. The local government was an elite plutocratic council consisting of the richest
corsair captains and miners, whose numbers were limited by the cost of purchasing a "seat" upon
the body. Under their guidance the world remained a lawless and free pirate port that welcomed all
kinds of armed bands. Their presence prevented the Assemblage of 1116 from overruning the system
after Strephon's death.
Unfortunately the world's colonists ignored the warning about Virus some 25 years later, and were
snuffed out to the last dog.
RQS orbital surveys have shown that the B-class starport was heavily damaged in a Vampire attack,
but can be made operational again with a few months of repairs. The corsair base and most of the
domes appear to be intact, though the last few RQS ground teams that have alighted on the surface
near these have reported coming under attack from infected mining machinery and automated defense
systems.
Malory/Antra (Deneb 2309)
Starport: Class X
Diameter: 3113 Miles
Atmosphere: Thin with high levels of ammonia and methane
Surface Water: None (Frozen "Slush")
Climate: Frozen
Population: 0
Government: None
Law Level: None
Tech Level: None
Malory is the fourteenth of sixteen moons found around this systems innermost gas giant, a massive
300,000 km diameter body known only as the Iceberg. This binary system is believed to be nearly
ten billion years old, and like most of its age and composition its worlds are metal poor. The
Iceberg, its two sister gas giants, and a pair of chondritic asteroid belts are the only
inhabitants of this system, though its Kuiper Belt has several dozen significant bodies. The main
world consists of spongy clay that has soaked up water ice into its pores and refrozen, creating a
brittle crust that is difficult to break up without excavating machinery.
The asteroid belts are a rich source of abiotic carbon, and until the 1000s the system's
population consisted of downheeled belters harvesting and selling this material to SuSAG and other
chemical companies. The world's lack of value and position on the unstable coreward border of the
Imperium are what convinced the Imperial Ministry of Colonization to convert one of the more
"habitable" of the local bodies into an outpost of its ill-fated Jonkereen project. This was done
less for science than for exiling particularly rebellious Jonkeer clans resisting Imperial rule on
their homeworld. With an atmosphere too thin to breath, and all liquid water requiring to be
melted and purified on a world with very cold temperatures and limited technological
infrastructure, this was a cruel form of punishment for sophonts who were paying for the hubris
and ignorance of their creators. The local scout base was really a security station that was
designed to keep the Jonkereen as far away from offworld contact as possible.
This barbaric confinement became more difficult to maintain after the outbreak of the
Rebellion/Civil War in 1116. The collapse of Imperial authority in Corridor Sector, the self-
elevation of Norris to Archduke, and the desperate straits the Domain of Deneb found itself within
made the expense of funding of the Jonkereen project an unhealthy luxury. Norris himself ordered
that Malory be abandoned, and its population returned to Jonkeer or other worlds settled by them.
Fleets of transports were assigned to begin removing them as soon as homes could be found for
them. This directive proved difficult to enforce, however, as the local Jonkeer were reluctant to
cooperate with an authority they distrusted. Coupled with the ecological and social strain of
adding more people to Jonkeer's heavily populated deserts, and the difficulty of protecting the
colony fleets from Vargr corsairs, some 85% of the population were still present on Malory in
1131.
With the new Regency abandoning the trailing section of Deneb Sector in anticipation of Virus, the
military turned to drastic action. Troops were sent to Malory in 1132, and began forcibly
evacuating the population. Fighting broke out between the enforcers and intransigent Jonkereen,
the latter seizing arms and fleeing into the remote outback. These guerrillas attempted to disrupt
the evacuation timetable and seize arms and supplies in frequent raids upon the starport and major
settlements. The evacuation ended in 1139, just a few days before the Rape of Trin. Most of the
evacuated population were resettled upon other desert worlds in the Regency, but 10% of the
population escaped the military dragnet and remained upon Malory. All of these perished from lack
of supplies after a Vampire fleet wiped out the starport in 1142.
Tchien/Antra (Deneb 2403)
Starport: Class X
Diameter: 6214 Miles
Atmosphere: Dense with trace hydrogen sulfide levels
Surface Water: 65%
Climate: Cool
Population: 261
Government: Technologically Elevated Dictator ("Der Kapiten" Sevren Kuriimisdi)
Law Level: 11
Tech Level: 6
Trade Class: Normal/Low/Industrial
Tchien (pronounced "chin", for the t is silent) is a pleasant world riding the innermost orbit of
its primary. The world is one of three free worlds and an asteroid belt of some value. The
mainworld is a young planet that possesses a fair amount of volcanism, though it has a mostly
breathable atmosphere. This seismic activity created a massive eruption about 1 million years ago,
covering one of its continents in thick magma, and filling the air with poisonous ash and gas. The
filtering out from this disaster is ongoing, and the local biosphere is still recovering from the
subsequent mass extinction.
The world was settled by the Vilani Makhidkarun megacorporation as a military outpost to protect
its lanthanum and osmium mines on Gagaradir. The world was never formally claimed by the Third
Imperium, and the company's representatives made sure it had no reason to do so. The local
atmosphere is noxious, and a bit poisonous, and this gave the corporation enough bad press to keep
away other prospective colony groups. The colonists are actually the descendants of a mercenary
"filibuster" group that took the planet in a bloody attack in 1100, sponsored by the company, that
took the world from a Vargr corsair group that had disputed Makhidkarun's claim on Gagaradir. The
attack drove off the corsairs, though the survivors had continued to attack both worlds in revenge
until the Collapse.
The local population had been settled in their new colony for a generation when news of the
Collapse reached the Regency. Makhidkarun had sold off its interest on Gagaradir during the
Rebellion to Sternmetal Horizons, and that company felt no compassion or obligation to its
neighbors. The new owners cut off the subsidy that the Vilani were paying the colonists, and the
Denebian government had previously refused to intervene. Thus when the Abandonment began, the
colonists tried to stay on their world, and sued the Regency government to prevent their
evacuation. They managed to stave off the government for several years, until the Rape of Trin
convinced about half of them to accept evacuation. Those that remained have violently resisted
further evacuation attempts, and their survivors and descendants have formed a hardcore fascist
government around a violent dictator known as "Der Kapiten".
Gagaradir/Antra (Deneb 2405)
Starport: Class X
Diameter: 1556 Miles
Atmosphere: Very Thin with heavy metallic dust content
Surface Water: None
Climate: Very Hot
Population: 0
Government: None
Law Level: None
Tech Level: None
Gagaradir is the fifth of eleven moons orbiting the sole world in this sparse solar system, a
large "Warm Jupiter" known as Aalimik. The moons are metal rich, and Gagaradir has especially
plentiful bodies of heavy metals required in starship manufacturing. Scouts from the Third
Imperium had initially done only a cursory survey of the system, and for most of its history the
world only attracted a small population of independent prospectors that kept the secret of its
mineral riches. These belters kept the source of their metal ores a secret from Imperial and Vargr
assayers, usually by selling it to various small-time independent brokers across Antra and Million
Subsector.
Another survey in 1082 showed the extent of this wealth, and a fight brewed among rival claimants.
The belters played off their megacorporation suitors for about a decade, until Makhidkarun beat
out Ling Standard Products in a bidding war. The Vilani quickly expanded the belters' haphazard
operations, creating a massive strip mining operation that scoured the entire surface with giant
mining platforms. These would dig a meter or more into a subsurface mineral body, slowly wearing
down a pit by excavating the ores. These would be crushed down to gravel sized bits, and poured
off conveyors into huge open bed dump trucks, who would carry the slurry off for offworld
shipping. The miners were mostly equipment operators who lived at one of several rude, temporary
downports near the main production areas in mobile quarters. These downports were landing zones
for mine shuttles that carried the ore to the orbiting B-class starport for final departure.
Makhidkarun's operations included the extraction of various vital heavy metals that were very
lucrative, and various rivals disputed its claim with legal and illegal means. Makhidkarun's main
enemy was LSP, who used both legal chicanery in Imperial courts and an alliance with a Vargr
corsair group to pressure its rival into abandoning the world. The latter were based upon Tchien,
and were persistent in their raids upon the company's shipping. After losing several vital freight
loads, Makhidkarun hired a starmerc group that attacked the corsairs on their homeworld, driving
them from the system permanently. After recovering incriminating documents on LSP's connivance in
this affair, the Vilani corp enjoyed a decade and a half of peace.
The assassination of Strephon put the Imperium into turmoil from which it would not recover.
Makhidkarun faced an uphill struggle during 1116-1122, during which its operations were crippled
by escalating security costs, capital flight from the Domain of Deneb, and renewed LSP sabotage.
With its operations now becoming unprofitable, the company sold its stake to Sternmetal Horizons
and abandoned the Domain of Deneb. Sternmetal kept the operation going (with assistance from
Hortalez et Cie) in the face of LSP intransigence, but the Collapse and the Abandonment caused it
to abandon the world in 1133. The orbital starport was dismantled and all personnel were evacuated
without further incident. Analysts expect renewed competition between LSP and the Sternmetal bloc
for this rich world when the Frontier is reopened in 1202.
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