Outer Systems ("The Far Rim")
Beyond the Asteroid Belt and the reach of the Mandate two 20-frigate strong fleets, there lie two more planets and countless moons orbit in the remotest reaches of the Bythan System. This is the home of pirates, miners, and ill-fortuned souls, far from the reach of the Mandate and of most authorities. Travelers beware.
Trade data with the Bytha system
Trade data with the Bytha system
Bytha-5 ("Cyrenae")Orbital Period : 98 local Years
Radius : 65984 KM Day Length : 14 local Hours Moons : 9 Cyrenae is a standard gas giant. Pre-scream, it was often used as a discharge site for overloaded FTL drives. It contains large amounts of hydrogen and helium, scooped up by automated remote stations. A few small outposts remain inhabited, and all outposts are filled with a breathable oxygen, which allows them to float at the rim of the gas giant. The psionic energy around Cyrenae has been known to attract psionic phenomenon, locally called "ship-eaters", Though reports vary, it is said that the planet is cursed with the psychic dead from the Scream, who sometimes bitterly snatch an errant orbiting ship out of revenge. THE CREDITS EXCHANGE Population : 2,589 Racial Makeup : 100% Elven Technology Level : Cat 4 CEO : Vuzlyn Hunzrin The most important feature of Cyrenae is the Credits Exchange that orbits it (also known as Dwelahe Station). Prior to the Scream, it was a local branch of the Imperial Credits Exchange, and had been commissioned far before the system was considered for terraforming. At such, it has been used as a staging point for emissaries of both the Empire and Republic. The population of the Exchange was evacuated to the Homeland after the Scream; however two decades ago, following reestablishment of FTL transit, a group of daring traders has decided to occupy the Exchange anew. Nowadays, the Exchange, as well as its trader AI, exists as its own political entity. It has been useful in establishing trade relations with neighboring star systems, as well as in creating the Bythan Credit, pegged on the value of surplus grain shipped to barely surviving worlds around. The Exchange also maintains its own fleet, thanks to the fuel reserves of the planet and the quadrinix mined from its moons; it is used to guide far trader ships between the Inner System and the outer reaches of the system's gravity well, where ships coming out of FTL begin their journey inwards. This is both a source of income for the system as whole and tension between the Exchange and the Mandate, which welcomes the credit but fears the instability brought about by far traders and their exotic goods. The more cynical minds will point that with the Mandate's fleets stretched out, even the few ships of the Exchange could prove to be enough of a match to uphold the Exchange's definite independance. The Credits Exchange is led by eccentric oligargh Vuzlyn Hunzrin, known for his love of sea otters and decadent nude paintings. ADVISORY : In recent months, there have been reports of systems breaking down beyond repair. Dock with caution. ADVISORY : The wreckage of the KSS Laschmi is closing onto the Credits Exchange. Debris fields might be expected. The Laschmi is stuck in self-maintenance mode. Proceed with caution. Living Quarters on Pressha Station
Asteroid Space Facility X-98 and Dockyard
Bridge of the Feymarch fending off a pirate attack
Ritual room on Narshe Station
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Bytha-6 ("Mol Aeshr")Orbital Period : 42 local Years
Radius : 35800 KM Day Length : 35 local Hours Moons : 25 Mol Aeshr is a large gas giant at the rim of the Bythan system. The planet itself is mostly mined for its hydrogen, however of utmost importance are the planet's moons, as well as its ring, extremely rich in several minerals, including Quadrinix, the resonant crystal that generates the warp field necessary for space travel. Most people live in the Aeshr Belt - the ring that surrounds the planet. Many outposts are set up in orbit amongst the belt's many debris. Essentially, many minerals that aren't easily found or extracted on other worlds are mined here. This makes the mining outposts in the Aeshr Belt essential if the Bythan people are to reclaim the stars, or even their system. The reactivation of several mining outposts by the Mandate was initially conceived as a short-term venture; engineers would quickly activate the outposts' automated mining facilities, and perhaps set up a couple of refineries and starports for transport back to the homeworld. With these facilities set up, however, it became evident that the policing of a planet so far out in the system would be a challenge. Barely five years into service, the head station's fleet rebelled - and the Mandate could not afford to muster a response so far away. What the authorities did not expect was that people would be attracted to long-term life on the frontier. Debtors, self-exiled political objectors, people on the run from the authorities or the homeworld's corrupt underbelly all found freedom in the many abandoned orbital outposts of Mol Aeshr. Not all such groups became miners, though many did, trading their precious minerals for food and other commodities. Makeshift refineries, corporate facilities, mercenary bases, repair shops, "ice fishers" and freshwater providers have been set up across the ring of Mol Aeshr or its moons. The planet itself has become a small system of its own right - albeit one full of scum and villainy, where the strongest bases bicker and skirmish and, food from the homeworld is scarce. Some bases are more civilized, others are near-tribal or cult-like in organization. Piracy is everywhere, and many a trader's margin was eaten into by "tolls" and "taxes" collected randomly by competing pirate groups. While the population does not necessarily benefit from piracy, as food traders often hesitate to reach out for the faraway world, many somewhat support it - a makeshift police force for a makeshift community. Inhabitants of the outer systems share a culture of resilience and defiance, but their existence is brief and harsh. Either due to lack of credits, traffic or because the local base administration is unwilling to let go of valuable, able-bodied workers, few people are able to make their way back. Their bodies have also become accustomed over time to low-gravity environments, which further traps them and their children in their bases. In recent years, a few of the strongest bases have started to band up against piracy, may it come from the many factions of Mol Aeshr or from core system pirates looking for easier prey. The Union of Mining Fleets maintains a small rusty fleet of rejected Bythan ships, which at last alleviated the chronic starvation that faced many of the bigger outposts. However, overreliance on Bythan food keeps the planet's independence on a short leash; with no other system in easy range that can easily provide food and few hydroponic facilities to produce it, many bases must comply with Mandate orders for minerals with minimal revenue or face termination of food subsidies. Nevertheless, conflict is brewing and tensions are flaring up between the inner and outer systems - and could spark into a full blown war any day. MAJOR MOONS : Mystra and Xarann Bytha-VI is orbited by countless moons; the most prominent are the rocky moons Mystra and Xarann. Coated in a weak but corrosive atmosphere, its core also contains untold riches, but life on the tidally-locked moon is also far harsher than elsewhere on the rim, with buildings coated in ablative sprays that gives them a grim, drippy appearance - and that's when the systems aren't defective. STARPORTS Pressha Station Population : 19,589 Racial Makeup : 100% Elven Technology Level : Cat 4 located on Mystra, this station is by far the biggest on that moon at a population of nearly 20.000 hardy souls spread across 38 sites. The atmosphere around might be corrosive, but the gravity is at a comfortable 0.4g, which offsets some of the drawbacks. Pregnant women of the Outer Systems often make the trip to Pressha, believing that the superior medical staff and gravity will help their pregnancy. Pressha Station was one of the first rediscovered, and nowadays serves as the headquarters of the rebel Union of Mining Fleets. Because it is a planetside station in an extremely hostile environment, few pirates dare to venture close enough to hit, and even though a few hits could easily permeate the station's defences and outer hull, the base is spread out on several sites connected by bunkers and travel tubes, with the critical infrastructure safe underground. Because of the poor atmospheric conditions, however, the UMF fleet is stationned in orbit on another station, Lethe Station. Prospero Vision - in orbit of Mystra (in reality in a stable orbit between Mystra and Xarann), Prospero serves as a specialized shipyard for UMF ship, as well as a general trade hub. Prospero was the first station reinstated by the Mandate and when it rebelled, it gained massive clout as well as several top of the line ships and technology to defend it against other Outer System bases with less honourable intentions. Nevertheless, the UMF operates it for everyone in the Outer System. Narshe Orbital - Narshe Orbital, located in the Aeshr Belt, is known to be a base reconverted into the Outer Systems Grand Shrine of the Void. Its inhabitants are cultists. Space Facility X-98 - One of the bigger mining and refinery complexes, it provides half of the total mineral shipments to the Homeland and Natha Nar. It is operated by the Forged, a semi-tribal matriarchy led by Mother Miounne, known to few as a Ton'keena, and not a Kalimshari. The Feymarch - actually a pre-Scourge dreadnought that did not explode due to its psionic drive having been ejected due to a prior malfunction, the ship is occupied by scavengers and miners that strip-mine and refine asteroids in the belt, roving from point to point, never in a stable orbit. The Feymarch was comandeered by the Mechanopriests in ages past, and has been spotted around Mol Xarith at some point the past year, giving way to all sorts of speculations, including that they might be a Technopriest ship. TRAVEL ADVISORY Piracy is highly common in the Aeshr Belt Ring; there is little enforcement for ships that are not identified as Union trade ships. In addition, travel through the ring is not advised due to high concentration of fragments and reduced maximal speed. |