Mikik (world)

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Mikik/Lentuli (Empty Quarter 0228)

Milieu 1116

X540975-5

Starport	X	No Starport
Size	5	Medium (8,000 km, 0.40g - 0.57g)
Atmosphere	4	Thin (tainted)
Hydrographics	0	Desert World 0%
Population	9	High (5 billion)
Government	7	Balkanization
Law	5	Moderate Law (no concealable weapons)
Tech Level	5	Industrial (mass production)

Astrography and Planetology

Part of the Marhaban Cluster.

Monostellar System

Mikik Monostellar System
Star Name	Hierarchy	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temp (K)	Luminosity (Sol)
Mikik M0 V	Primary	Main Sequence		0.57	3770 - 3850	0.13982
	Unit	Diameter	Min Distance	Hab Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.0027	0.031	0.39 - 0.74	0.27	2.7
	Orbit #	*	*	2	0	5

History and Background

Originally settled by persecuted religious fanatics during the late Rule of Man, the world of Mikik became extremely xenophobic after an unfortunate incident involving raids by offworlders during the Long Night. Lacking both the means and the drive to maintain contact with other worlds, Mikik's level of technology has slowly degraded to TL5. Divided by their xenophobia and general intolerance of others, there is little wonder that Mikik is ruled by numerous national governments, their hatred for one another surpassed only by their hatred and fear of offworlders.

Mikik, the proudest and most unyielding of the Glorious Twelve, had her fleet slowly ground to dust between A.D. 2795 and 2820 (c. -1725 and -1700 Imperial), leaving her riches to be savaged by Vargr raiders throughout the Long Night.

Mikik, not far from Marhaban (Empty Quarter 0426), was brutally enslaved by the stranded Vargr, who solidified their rule by planting hidden nuclear weapons in fifteen of her major cities, holding them hostage to Mikiki submission. During their rule, Mikik was a notable supplier of raw materials to both Bwap and Antarean worlds. A worldwide revolt in A.D. 3794 (-726 Imperial) destroyed Vargr rule, but increasingly frantic attempts to uncover and neutralize the gigaton bombs failed in all but three instances, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of millions. Even after the world recovered from this devastating blow, Vargr raiders in A.D. 4343 (-177 Imperial) infected the world with F-cap in an attempt to reduce resistance to their raids (and a planned re-invasion of the world): the Vargr used captured humans as disease vectors. The virulent plague killed more than half the population, but resistance to all outsiders - Vargr and humans alike - rose to a state of unthinking xenophobic hatred, where it remains today.

Mikik also led an effective resistance to Imperial power, if only on the planetary level. Several attempts to impose Imperial authority were made, most notably the Ematan Campaigns of 94-97 Imperial. After these efforts failed miserably, the Ducal House that ruled the subsector decided to just Red Zone it, placing a soft interdiction of the world (warning away all who attempt to land on the world, but not banning it outright).

Mikik’s Baronial title has only rarely been active in the history of the Imperium- it has been unclaimed for over 800 years. o The last Baron Mikik, a Glasicom executive, died with his men trying to defend Glasicom’s new private starport from a tank assault in 248. Glasicom gave up their development license and noble claim on Mikik the following year. There is not a large deterring Imperial presence in orbit around Mikik, even though the world is interdicted. The population of Mikik is enough of a deterrent to offworlders. Most of the population is not only highly xenophobic, but it seems that many of the local religions equate offworlders with harbingers of evil. Add to the above the current fad of many onworld militaries to use simple chemical weapons like blister agents, makes Mikik the least likely place to visit for many in the Empty Quarter. Hell, I don't want to get gassed by some local just because I want to do some trading.

Just to illustrate how widespread the fad of chemical weaponry is, the world is listed as having a tainted atmosphere because of it. There are several low-lying areas that cannot be entered without protection. This includes the former city- state of Zellikuk, which is effectively uninhabitable sitting in a cloud of blister agent that will not dissipate for another twenty-five years.

Looking through the telescope at this world is a wonder. Mikik orbits close to a small gas giant, which when combined with solar flares from the close type M star leads to some spectacular aurora displays coupled with intense radio interference. The cold deserts occasionally have humaniti-made clouds of toxic blister agents floating across them. Over five billion people cluster around the small inland lakes and oasis in numerous city-states and nation-states. At night, the surface cities glow with light. Well, they glow until a particular bad solar flare disrupts the local power grid and everything goes dark over part of the world.

The Imperial Interdiction Squadron is a constellation of twenty locally produced Runabouts operated by the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service. The Navy used to operate one of the old Abupappabwapuu-class Interdiction Cruisers in orbit around the world until an incident that happened a few years ago. Now you won't find the incident written up by the Traveller News Service or any other news media in the Empty Quarter, this incident was hushed up as quickly as it happened. The Imperial Navy especially does not want the story spread, but if you listen in the dingy drinking establishments then you'll hear the tale told by discharged Navy personnel.

The story goes like this. With an Abupappabwapuu-class in orbit and its crew watching the inhabitants of Mikik killing themselves in various ugly ways, the Captain of the ship apparently decided to try and help them. Seeing that one of the few fertile areas onworld was being destroyed by poison gas, the CO ordered his crew to use their repulsor batteries and laser batteries to disperse the poison gas cloud. The gas cloud was indeed moved away from the fertile ground and dispersed. However, the city-states nearby who witnessed this event took it as a prelude to an attack and launched their own pre-emptive strikes against each other. The story says that about a couple million people on Mikik died in the attacks.

With the death and destruction recorded from orbit, the Captain was court-martialed, and the Navy gave responsibility of Mikik's interdiction to the Scouts. Its the sort of story you're likely to hear in a bar being told by ex-Navy guys trying to cage a free drink or two. The only problem is that it is common knowledge that the Navy had charge of Miki's interdiction and gave it over to the Scouts with no public explanation given. Any merchant ship chartered to haul resupply to the Scout runabouts there can ask about the story, the answer is always the same. The Scout crews just say that they know nothing about that and couldn't talk about it if they did.

It’s OK to enter the system and skim from the gas giant as long as comm contact is maintained with the Interdiction Force. If you want to put down on Mikik, the Interdiction Fleet will let you after several warnings about the natives. From what I heard, the last merchants who landed there put down in a city square and were almost immediately shelled by artillery. When the crew left their damaged ship, a mob attacked them and killed each one. Best thing you can hope for is selling to the Scouts in orbit.

Probably one of the worst things about the place is the sirens. If you are in-system, try to ignore any radio signals coming from Mikik between frequencies of 50 kilohertz to about 160 kilohertz. I know that most of those radio signals will get lost in the mush from the primary star and its usual solar weather activity, just let the signals stay lost. You see, there are inhabitants of Mikik who are not so xenophobic that they do not believe that they cannot find a better home somewhere else in the Imperium. So they gather together and use radios that are considered illegal in any city-state on the planet to call on any ship in-system to come down and take them offworld. Rumor has it that the people pay well, usually with everything they have. Of course, every city-state military in the area will be trying to kill you any way they can while you are onworld. And don't go lookin' for help from the Interdiction Force while you're doing this, they think that if you've gotten yourself into the mess then you can get yourself out of it

Imperial High (Landed) Nobility

Despite being a world under Imperial control, this world-system's Red Zone rating has kept any Imperial Nobility from being appointed to it.

World Starport

Mikik does not have a starport. The Class X Starport is an indication that no starport exists in the system. There are no facilities or services available, and no site marked for landing.

UWP Listing

UWP Changes (all dates are Imperial Calendar)

T20 - 993 - MIKIK 0228 X340975-5 De Hi In Po R 523 Im
CT - 1105 - MIKIK 0228 X340975-5 De Hi In Po R 523 Im
MT - 1125 - MIKIK 0228 X340976-5 De Hi In Po R 523 La - League of Antares (Regent Brzk's faction)
TNE - 1201 - Mikik 0228 X340420-3 De Lo Ni Po B 323 Wi - Zone B - Balkanized

References and Contributors

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

Jason Kemp. "Gamma Quadrant of the Empty Quarter Sector- Lentuli Subsector." Stellar Reaches 01 (2005): 7.
Jason Kemp. "Empty Quarter Echo- Mikik (Empty Quarter 0228)." Stellar Reaches 04 (2006): 27.
Jason Kemp. "Sector In Review: Empty Quarter 993." Stellar Reaches 05 (2006): 37. - UWP Only
Alvin Plummer. "Maps and UWP’S for the Empty Quarter: 993, 1105, 1125, and 1201 Imperial." Stellar Reaches 17 (2011): 16. - UWP Only
Alvin Plummer. "Data Dump: Updated Maps and UWPs for the Empty Quarter, 993 and 1105 Imperial." Stellar Reaches 19 (2012): 48. - UWP Only
World page generated by AB-101
Data compiled by ’’MIMIC’’ - Minor Imp of the Ministry of Information and Communication

↑ "Jump Map API" and map location from Travellermap.com

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