The Traveller's Core Sector Planetary Gazetteer

[J Harper]

Sevan - 2419 Core Sub-Sector
UWP - A544576-B
Trade Codes - Agricultural, Non-Industrial
Bases - Scout
High Port - Yes

Sevan is a major agricultural world serving as the vital breadbasket for the cluster of systems in the Trailing-Rimworld corner of the Core sub-sector. These worlds, save for Yirsh Poy, have populations in the billions. Combined with atmospheres less-than-friendly to farming, their governments require the import of the hearty grain crops of Sevan to maintain their economies and stave off famines. Sevan has prospered greatly due to this necessity.

Sevan is renowned for its fertility. Native strains of bacteria deeply enrich the soil, allowing native and gene-modified plant life to flourish in abundance. Unfortunately, this bacterium is dangerous to non-native animal life; beings breathing the air unfiltered will slowly begin to choke to death as this bacteria infiltrates the lungs, causing massive clusters of growths and reducing their capacity. Thankfully, this is easily treatable with exposure to scrubbed oxygen - the bacteria requires a particular element in Sevan's atmosphere in order to thrive and propagate. Without it, it will quickly die out. A short schedule of antibiotics will speed up the recovery process.

This facet in the planet's environment was engineered by the Thuluk, a Minor non-human race native to Sevan. A rare sentient life form which evolved from herbivores, when first discovered by the Ziru Sirka, their industrial and engineering was at a level of 4, while their agricultural and horticultural sciences were incredibly advanced, a match for or surpassing the best techniques and innovations of the Vilani. The Thuluk have little interest in worlds beyond their home and seem to accept others claiming rule over it with a placid indifference akin to other sophonts' reaction to mildly inclement weather.

Sevan is administrated by the Sevan Agricultural Commerce Company - SACco - founded in 838. Initially just one of many agribusinesses on the planet, through clever business strategies and cutthroat maneuvering, within fifty years it monopolized food exporting and controlled over sixty percent of human-owned arable land. SACco had also suborned the participatory democratic government of the planet, officially dissolving it and establishing their corporate rule of the system by 897. Over the next two hundred years, SACco steadily eroded individual rights to the point where the vast majority of the human population are little better than planet-bound serfs.

After generations of this treatment, uprisings and resistance from the exploited farming communities against their corporate overlords began in 1050. SACco was easily able to suppress these in the beginning, but the revolts started happening with increasing frequency and became harder to put down as the population grew more desperate in the face of increasingly draconian oppression and survivors of previous resistance groups learned from their defeats. The situation culminated in 1098 with the creation of the Army of the Free Soil, a planet wide organization dedicated to the overthrow of SACco's rule and the restoration of a fair, non-corporate government. The Free Soilers are cunning and careful, surgically striking at SACco personnel and disrupting their operations. SACco has managed to bloody the Army several times but has achieved no more - the Army of the Free Soil is too entrenched, too numerous, and too well supported by the non-corporate population.

The situation in 1104 was the most turbulent yet, with low intensity raiding and skirmishes happening all over the planet on an almost daily basis, and the new year seems to be shaping up to be no different. Any SACco employee travelling more than 500 kilometers from Sevrathi, the planet capital and site of corporate headquarters, is taking a tremendous risk. While both sides of this conflict are trying to keep collateral damage to a minimum, the Traveller's Aid Society has stated they will declare Sevan system an Amber zone if the situation does not stabilize within the next six months. Crop yields and exports have diminished steadily since 1099, and representatives of the Emperor have directly warned SACco's Board of Directors they either get their house in order quickly or else the Sub Sector military will do it for them - a process they have been all but told they will not survive.

 

[J Harper]

Umgadin - 2320 Core Sub-Sector
UWP - B6B5946-C
Trade Codes - Fluid Oceans, High Population, High Tech, Industrial
Bases - None
High Port - Yes

Umgadin is a boiling hot world lashed by acidic storms and with half of its surface covered by roiling oceans of liquid ammonia. But despite its hellish environment it is home to a population of over three billion, most of whom make their living wringing out valuable chemicals, gases and minerals from this poisonous planet.

Umgadin is technically a corporate world, governed by the Union of Technic Advance, which has a monopoly on all resource extraction and controls 90% of the high-tech industries and manufacturing on planet. What is unusual about it is that UTA is completely employee owned, and as such dedicated to the betterment and economic well-being of all their workers - under the founding charter of both the colony and the company the original colonists created, all employees, from the newly hired apprentice ammonia extractor to the thirty-year c-suite veteran, have an equal say in how UTA and Umgadin as a whole is run.

Umgadin and the Union of Technic Advance are both run as a representative democracy, with all share-holding employees (new employees receive their first shares on their first hiring anniversary) have the right to vote and to run for local, regional and planetary offices. The government's goal is to maintain and improve the planetary standard of living while increasing the profitability of the primary industries without compromising worker safety. It has been remarkably successful in these endeavors - Umgadin's poverty level is below 4%, its social safety nets are incredibly robust, and its median income level is among the highest in the Core sub-sector.

However, over the past ten years there has been a constant parade of scandals involving the two main political parties - the Green Ocean Party and the Technic Conservative Alliance. Allegations of extreme corruption, bribery and nepotism, many of them proven, has severely reduced the parties' popularity and undermined the average citizen's trust in the government. Recent sweetheart deals favoring Sternmetal Horizons and Tukera Lines, along with the loosening of certain competitive regulations to protect domestic industry from outside competition, are the most recent actions to infuriate the Umgadin voting public.

In response to the current political situation the Umgadin Reformation Party was formed in 1101. It has grown tremendously over the past four years. As of the last major elections held 1104, the URP controls 38% of the Common Assembly and 33% of the Executive Advisory, surpassing the number of Green Ocean representatives in office. Current projections have the Umgadin Reformation Party taking majority control of both the Assembly and Advisory from the TCA by 1108 and winning the executive offices of the Executor General and Planetary Administrator by 1110.

The vast majority of the planet's population of three billion live in spacious, comfortable and meticulously maintained arcologies on the surface. Almost all of them are situated on the shores of Umgadin's three ammonia oceans. Arcology populations range from 200 to 600 million, with the capital, Ilmarthal, having 800 million citizens. Ilmarthal is also the location of Umgadin's Down Port, with the High Port in geosynchronous orbit above. The capital stands on the northwest shores of Nessus, the planet's largest ocean.

 

[G'Naakbusters]

Nice write-ups!

In one of the Core Adventures (Last Call at Eneri's... I think), it mentions that the Umgadin parliament's two dominant factions fall under the Orange (centrist) and Sparkle (traditionalist) blocs. I'm guessing the Green Ocean Party is "Orange" on the Imperial political spectrum, and the Technic Conservative Alliance is "Sparkle"? That would seem to fit!

 

[J Harper]

Nertz, I didn’t realize that Umgadin had been written up officially. Oh well, I guess this is just a case of IMTU. Green Ocean would be more Liberal than Centrist, but otherwise you’re right. The URP is probably centrist, maybe slightly conservative, with its stated goal of clearing out the proven corruption in the government having resonated with the franchised public.

Thank you for the kind words.

 

[J Harper]

Yirsh Poy - 2318 Core Sub-Sector - Sylean World
UWP - B30577-B
Trade Codes - Non-Industrial
Bases - Scout
High Port - Yes (Berthing 1000 Crd)

Yirsh Poy is the largest moon orbiting the gas giant Yarash Vay, which in turn orbits the primary sun on this trinary solar system, Yirsh Primus. Around the size of Mercury at a diameter of 4800 km and with only a trace atmosphere, Yirsh Poy is populated by 600,000 people. Some 400,000 live in the main city of Incarnum, excavated beneath Threshold Poy downport, while another 200,000 live in either smaller habitats on or under the moon's surface or else in comfortable orbitals circling Yirsh Poy.

The planet is technically balkanized with two distinct cultures which co-exist peacefully. The majority of the population is governed by the Incarnum Poyar, a spiritual philosophy with similarities to Solomoni Buddhism, though it was developed independently in the time before Ziru Sirka domination of Sylean Worlds. The government bureaucracy is drawn from the ranks of various 'Circles' of enlightenment. The Incarnum Poyar faith is in theory meritocratic, and while there are, as always, incidents of nepotism and favoritism due to social standing, it mostly lives up to this ideal. Also, while not answerable to the general populous, this spiritual oligarchy is very attentive to the needs, well-being, and moods of the citizens and is opened to influence by lobbyists.

The other settlements are creative collectives, communes made up of artists of various disciplines and their support staff. These communes are also host to various artistic conservatories and colleges, all of them well-regarded in both the sub-sector and Core Sector, with a few having an almost Imperium-wide renown. The artist communes are all governed by a participatory democracy at both the individual and collective levels.

A non-Industrial world, much of Incarnum's economy is supported by the excellent B class starport servicing Yirsh Poy. The high port is named Yirsh Gate while the down port is called Threshold Poy. Landing at Threshold is heavily restricted, but most business can be conducted at Yirsh Gate and multiple high-speed shuttles transit between the high port and down port roughly every fifteen minutes. The artist communes are funded by both Imperial and Sylean grants along with endowments and trusts set up by wealthy nobles, businessmen and museums.

A quarter of Yirsh Gate Station serves as the system scout base. Yirsh Poy's current mission is a thorough study and survey of the planets and planetoids in orbit around Yirsh Secundus and Yirsh Tertius, which is currently projected to be completed by 1116.