Varan Sector

Mikhail Sector
S t o r r Drakken D a r r e t Mikhail style="width: 250px; height: 350px; border: solid 1px black;" map from Travellermap.com The Tracerie
Subsectors
Merlina Prospect Eddo's Folly Trudeth Gap Foldet Far Reaches The Outworlds Shattershard Antusheng Kesrith Varan Spyne The Barrens Singan Magera Eclorodacava
Sector Data
No. of Worlds	359
Majority Control	The Varan Core Worlds - 33%
Secondary Control	The Varan League of Planets - 30%
Tertiary Control	The Shattered Worlds - 4%
Capital	Varan (K-2023)
Imperial Coordinate	3 / -5
Mikhail style="width: 250px; height: 350px; border: solid 1px black; float: right; clear: left"

Mikhail Sector (The Varan Sector) Circa 1105

If you are reading this, you've been granted Ultim-4A security access by your planetary ruling body. All standard security provisions apply - please handle this E-document accordingly. If you've seen this file in error, please contact your local security office or Ultim-8 liaison.

My name is Dalthor Et Magera, which essentially translates to "Dalthor from Magera" in your tongue. As a native Varan, I am uniquely qualified to provide the information you are about to peruse.

I have endeavored to render this missive in the third person point of view. Should you find first person views, please be tolerant. I still find it hard to think, and therefore dictate, in your language.

The Mikhail Sector, called the Varan Sector by its native race, is just outside known space, as defined by the Imperium. A single Solomani colony ship reached the sector in 922, but crash-landed on Varan/Prospect/Scimitar (B-1202) after a jump mishap.

To date, there is no official contact of any sort with the Imperium. The Varans are aware of the existence of several star-faring civilizations, including the K'Kree, Aslan, and Humaniti, but have made no overt attempts to contact them.

The Varans have their own unique calendar system; for ease of use, everything herein is converted to Imperial reckoning. This may help simplify your task and aid you in integrating this information into your own library data.

Who are the Varans?

The Varan home world is located at K-2023, with an orbital period of 360.125 days. We are bipedal humanoids, very similar to Terran stock, with one significant visible difference. Rather than a single thumb and four fingers per hand, we have two opposing thumbs and three fingers on each hand. We average 1.9 meters in height, and about 95 kilograms in weight.

The Varan gestation period averages 272 days. Full reproductive maturity is reached at around age 20. Average natural lifespan is 139 years.

Varan has been a space-faring civilization for nearly 2200 years, and has had jump capability for just over 2000 years.

Commercial and private ships are generally limited to jump-2, military to jump-4, and in rare cases jump-6. This is a feature of Varan culture, rather than any form of legal or military restriction. There are, of course, exceptions.

Varan Life Stages

• No....Life Stage......Years Terms
• 0......Infancy............0-1 1/2
• 1......Childhood............2-9 2
• 2......Adolescence............10-17 2
• 3......Young Adult*......18-33 4
• 4......Adult............34-49 4
• 5......Peak 50-65 4
• 6......Mid-life 66-81 4
• 7......Senior 82-97 4
• 8......Elder 98-113 4
• 9......Retirement 114+

How are they governed?

The Varan worlds have various forms of government, depending on the location of the world. The sector government is in three main tiers - Varan itself, the other six core worlds, and the Varan League of Planets consisting of all other settled worlds in the sector.

Varan itself is the primary world. The core worlds are the seven initial worlds, including Varan itself, settled by the Varan people. The Varan League of Planets, or League, is a coalition of all other Varan-settled worlds.

The Varan home world is administered by a representative, known as the Prime, chosen by the people of the League. The actual title is Prime, and the role is similar to that of the Imperial Emperor.

Each of the other six Varan core worlds are ruled by an elected representative, and determine the policies, laws, and regulations of the Varan populace. These representatives are similar in responsibility to your Archdukes, and are known as Delegates. Each Delegate represents a group of planets.

Please note the distinction between chosen and elected. An elected representative serves for a maximum total of 10 years, and is then replaced with a newly-elected representative. The person chosen to serve as Prime serves at the will of the people, and serves until death or until the people decide to replace that person. The Prime is usually, but not always, the most popular of the recent Delegates.

The Varan League of Planets, consisting of the remaining worlds settled by the Varan people, have various forms of government. That form of ruling body is world-specific. The worlds follow their own dictates, but are subject to the overall policies of the Varan people, as set by Prime and the Delegates.

To summarize, each planet in the League of Planets determines its own government. Each planet selects an Ambassador to represent them in the Core. Those Core representatives then elect a Delegate to be their deputy to the Prime. The Delegates determine policy for the League as a whole. The Prime is the final arbiter and overall governor for the entire Varan people.

The Varan military

The Varans do not have a true military establishment, at least as you define one. It is more an arm of the government, tasked with maintaining order, fostering trade, and providing sector-wide communications to the League.

Knowing your predilection for acronyms, I've liberally translated the actual names of the branches to better reflect your naming style. It also makes later references to these government branches a bit easier to scribe.

The military arm of the government is called the Cosat, a conjugation of Communications, Survey, and Trade. The separate branches are described below.

The Communications Branch

The Varan Office of Communication, or VOCOMM, is responsible for communications within the sector. VOCOMM maintains a fleet of fast couriers, akin to your x-boat network. The system is set up in loops, with bi-directional messages traversing each loop. The loops are interconnected, which allows for fast, efficient passing of messages.

The Scouting and Surveying Branch

The Varan Office of Scouting and Surveying, or VOSS, is similar to your IISS. In addition to the exploration and survey of systems and worlds, it is responsible for colonization efforts in the sector.

VOSS is also responsible for early warning and defensive systems throughout the sector. The ships are fast and well-armed.

The Trade and Economic Branch

VECTOR, The Varan Economic and Trade Organization is responsible for the economic health of the sector. It defines trade routes, sets pricing, schedules trade runs, and organizes the labor force in the sector.

VECTOR manages trade in general, but the member planets of the league actually supply the ships that run the routes. The planets also run the starports that maintain the ships.

Bases within the sector

Varan bases within the sector are similar to the Imperial equivalents. Some distinctions are made due to the "lack" of a military force.

Varan Naval bases are responsible for the building and maintenance of all vessels, whether she is a trader, scout, survey ship, or courier. In times of war, they are assembly points for fleets.

Varan Scout bases and way stations are functionally similar to their Imperial cousins.

Military garrisons of any sort are actually local security forces. Generally, they are also training areas for local police forces.

Crime and punishment

In general, there is not an exceptional amount of crime in the Varan sector. As with any major race, there are some unscrupulous types, and those who live "below the radar" in your quaint Imperial terms. The reason for this lack of criminality will become more apparent as you get into Varan history later in this e-Document.

In normal cases, the local or planetary government will be responsible for dispensing justice. In a case where the Core gets involved, or if it is an extreme case, the odds are that the culprit will be sent to Ryfe (I-0829) as punishment - this is the Varan equivalent of a prison world. See the entry later in this document.

Psionics in the Varan sector

Psionic ability is found in Varan citizens, who are tested at birth. Unlike the Imperium, Psionics have no stigma in the Varan sector. In truth, a Psion will normally be groomed for government positions, especially Espers, who are used as arbiters and judges.

All Psions are subject to rules of conduct, known as Psi-regs, that they follow. Psi-regs are basically ethical guidelines, and failure to abide by those guidelines is dealt with harshly. A Psion can be stripped of the ability via psychic surgery, and in extreme cases may be put to death for willfully breaking those guidelines.

Politics

Politics, at least in the sense you think of it, does not follow your self-serving form of service. Varans choose their representatives by how well they will serve the people.

The political system in the League runs more like a business. Representatives are selected based on their qualifications, and the people decide who is best for the job. If that Varan is not working out, the people will replace them as soon as possible. The overall good of the people takes precedence over the good of the few.

The Varan Core Worlds

The Varan core worlds consist of seven (7) worlds at the heart of the Varan sector. The original home world, Varan, is considered the primary world. The other six worlds - Eddoh, Niall, Trevorra, Kellan, Falan, and Korrell - are named after the crew of the first successful jump ship built. They are also the only worlds reachable from Varan by a Jump-1 ship.

Varan is the Capital of the sector. The Prime resides here, along with the family, retinue, and the general government functionaries.

The remaining six core worlds are home to the six Delegates, their families, retinues, and the general government functionaries. These six worlds comprise a majority of the government itself.

At least once per Varan year, the six Delegates travel to Varan to spend time with Prime and finalize details of any new laws, regulations, and trade agreements that need to be ratified.

The Varan League of Planets

All worlds settled by Varans that are outside the Core worlds are members of the Varan League of Planets, commonly called the League. These worlds are responsible for their own governance, subject to the overall sector government. In most ways they are autonomous, but for the good of the people they have a common set of rules for trade, communications, and travel.

The only restricted planet system in the League is Ryfe (I-0829) due to its status as a prison world.

The Shattered Worlds

Little is known about this area beside the fact that a terrible calamity struck. There is not one single intact planet in any of the systems. The gas giants are all small at best, and everything else is an asteroid belt or shattered world.

The only system with anything recognizable is Returne (H-2914) and that system is off-limits. The remnants of MASSIVE battle monitors destroy any ship that jumps into the system. To date, only probes have been able to send back any usable data, and even the best armored probes were severely damaged. The smallest monitor imaged was over 5,000,000 tons, and appeared to be only about 50% functional. It still destroyed a significant portion of the first fleet sent into the sector.

The minimum estimated technological level of the system equals that of the best Varan devices and ships, and based on empirical evidence, would rival that of your Ancients, as you call them.

Our best scientists analyzed all available data, images, and samples where obtainable. Their best guess is a war of some sort, fought by a race or species unknown, with the end result being the utter annihilation of everything except the automated battle monitors.

In the 1900 years since Varans first tried to explore the region, not a single manned ship has survived a foray into Returne. Attempts are still made, in the hope of both gaining intelligence, and in the hope of finding a defense against the battle monitors. The attempts may have been futile, but the learning experience has lead to many new Varan innovations and technological wonders.

Trade, commerce, and money

Varans, like the Imperium, use a consistent monetary unit. For practical purposes, it is the equivalent of the credit. We do have nicknames for amounts, based on an old coin-based system.

• 1 is a Fingul
• 5 is a Handul
• 10 is a Fistul
• 100 is a Bodul
• 1000 is a Nobul

The Varan calendar

The Varan calendar consists of 10 months of 36 days per month. Each month is broken into six weeks, each of which is further divided into six days. Each day is divided into 36 hours, each of which contains 36 minutes, each minute containing 36 seconds. Every eight years, one additional day is added to the calendar. It is added as the last day of the year, and is called Varandul by the people.

This is the standard calendar used by all League worlds to synchronize time with Varan itself. Each individual planet also has its local calendar.

Varan math

Varan math is based on tens, due to the total number of fingers and thumbs on two hands. In that respect, it is already familiar to the reader.

Exploration and expansion

For the near future, there are no plans to expand the current borders of the League. VOSS has explored every system in the sector, and has ranged out into adjacent areas. No contact has been made with any other race as yet - the VOSS missions have all been covert if they went into any other inhabited system.

It is a well known fact in Varan space that there are early warning systems stationed in every single system in the sector, as well as those in adjacent sectors. While there is no intent to invade other regions of known space, there is also no current movement to be known to the Imperium or any other space-faring race.

The Winnowing

A major factor in the current lack of expansion is the plague we call The Winnowing. Just over 150 years ago, an extremely old (Ancient?) site was discovered on the planet Pandissol (O-2433). During the exploration of the site, a small canister was opened, releasing a virulent plague of incalculable destruction.

The plague spread silently, with no ill effect, for nearly a month before the first symptoms showed. By that time, all of Pandissol, and most other planets in the subsector had been exposed, thanks to interstellar travel. By the time it was recognized as a virus, virtually every living being in the Varan sector had been exposed.

The virus essentially modified our DNA; most of the deaths occurred when the host body was unable to cope with the changes. The virus seems to have targeted specific genes, removing "defective" gene combinations. It seems as though it was originally meant as a curative virus, but did not work properly.

Eventually a cure was discovered, although by that time it had run the majority of its deadly course. The plague itself no longer exists, except in the minds and hearts of the people.

For the survivors and later generations, the overall result of the virus was beneficent. Hearing, vision, and smell were enhanced. Birth defects and many diseases were eradicated. Unfortunately, the loss of more than 70% of the population mitigated this result.

The Winnowing also altered our physical structure to some extent. Prior generations had one thumb and four fingers per hand. Subsequent generations have two opposing thumbs and three fingers per hand. This has caused some engineering issues, which are now resolved for the most part.

The biggest thing to note is that this virus was tailored for Humaniti - if you were exposed, you would go through the same metamorphosis, assuming you survived the initial exposure to the virus.

This also lends credence to the current Imperial assumption that the Varan people are also Terran stock, taken from the Solomani Rim, and placed on Varan.

Varans are still recovering from the effects of the plague. Even after 150 years, most planets still feel the effects from the loss of life. A lot of planets consolidated their populations, and began the process of rebuilding.

Careful analysis of the technological levels in the sector will reveal "rings" of decreasing technology radiating out from Core planets. Slowly but surely everything is being built back up, from Varan outward. By the time it is done, the Varans will again be ready (and able) to expand their horizons.

Varan technology

In most regards, the Varan are very close to the Imperium in general technology. The main difference is in computer systems and automation.

Current Varan computers are at a minimum of tech level 20 for all intents and purposes. All Varan computers are at least 50% smaller and lighter than their Imperial equivalents. The circuits are literally built molecular layer by molecular layer. Most systems are controlled by voice in addition to a physical interface. The AI's are intuitive, and the latest can run a starship with little to no Varan interaction. This allows minimal crew sizes, with little to no loss of capability.

Unlike the Imperium, this level of automation in commonplace, and Varans don't even give it a second thought.

The next 50 years

As the rebuild nears completion, Varans are starting to plan the next round of expansion. They have the time, and the inclination, to do it slowly, steadily, and thoroughly.

They have also learned patience - a virtue that will stand them in good stead, considering that in that 50-year timeframe the odds are great that the first official alien encounter will take place.

By then most if not all League planets will be back to at least tech level 16, with some nearing level 17 thanks to Varan computer technology and automation.

And finally...

Of course, by now you are asking yourself how, if there is no contact, you came to be reading this document.

Remember one thing - no official contact has been made with Varan.

Some of you may recognize my name - I'm somewhat well known in the Spinward Marches and Deneb sectors. By now, you may also have realized that my past has been...modified...to some extent by the Imperium. In due time, more shall be publicly revealed, and Varans will likely join the known races of the Imperium.

In the meantime, this information is being disseminated to select groups within known space, to give them time to prepare for first contact with the Varan people.

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.

• Alien Module 7: Hiver - named but no further data
• Dalthor's Guide to the Mikhail (Varan) Sector - Ed "Dalthor Et Magera" Anderson