Ksethu (world)

Ksethu/Dzen (Gvurrdon 1112)
Classic Era (1116)	A00089B-E Starport A Excellent: Starship Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel Size 0 Asteroid/Planetoid Belt Atmosphere 0 Vacuum Hydrographics 0 Desert World 0% Population 8 Moderate (600 million) Government 9 Impersonal Bureaucracy Law B Extreme Law (control of movement) Tech Level E High Stellar (anti-grav cities)
See also	UWP
System Details
Primary	M2 V
Planetoid Belts	2
Gas Giants	2

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Jump map from Travellermap.com

Ksethu is a ring of many small worldlets (planetoids AKA an "asteroid belt"), not capable of retaining an atmosphere or water, and both non-agricultural and preindustrial in nature.

• These worldlets warrant hazardous environment precautions.
• Life in a vacuum requires great discipline. After all, it only takes one forgotten seal on a vacuum suit to spell death. Those who survive tend to be very methodically-minded and attentive to small detail.
• Despite the challenging of living on asteroid colonies, this settlement is at a moderate population status of over a hundred million, but not yet at a billion sophonts in size.
• The worldlets are, for the most part, unable to produce quality foodstuffs and must import them.
• These worldlets are working towards being an industrial world but lack adequate resources to do so. Local leaders are diligently working towards the expansion of this settlement's industrial manufacturing capability.
• This is a "high technology" world with technology achievements at, near, or over technology standards for Charted Space.
• This is a "Puzzle" world designated as an Amber Zone. Caution is advised since the world has an environment, laws, customs, life forms, or other conditions that are not well understood and might be a danger to a visitor.
• It is a member of the Society of Equals in the Dzen Subsector of Gvurrdon Sector in the Vargr Extents.

Description / Astrography & Planetology

Ksethu (Gvurrdon 1112) A00089B-E As Ht Na Ph Pi Pz Va {2} was a member of the Society of Equals (VSEq) up until the Equality war (1111-1116) and conquered by the Thirz Empire (VTzE). A mining world of both hard and soft raw resources, Ksethu resides on the upper echelon of productive worlds in terms of Resource Units (RU).

Monostellar System

Ksethu Monostellar System

Star Name	Hierarchy	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temp (K)	Luminosity (Sol)
Ksethu M2 V	Primary	Main Sequence		0.44	3470 - 3560	0.0565
	Unit	Diameter	Min Distance	Hab Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.0021	0.0197	0.25 - 0.48	0.21	2.1
	Orbit #	*	*	1	0	4

System Data

Ksethu is held in place by a slow burning M2 V red dwarf named “Lantern”. Vessels arriving at the Beltport nestled in the innermost planetoid belt in Orbit 0, the Habitable Zone, do note that the primary has a ruddy orange color. The system features two wide and adjacent planetoid belts immediately encircled by its two large gas giants. Various other planets range outward from the Inner orbits to the Outer. Ice worlds, big worlds, one inferno, one irradiated planet and their small satellites make up the system disk about Lantern. The system is home to four comets that come at varied revolutions and no closer than Orbit 3 in their trajectory and distance from the red dwarf. Incoming ships, upon jump precipitation or interstellar departure, are treated to their spectacle when a comet comes close to the outermost gas giant.

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The Ksethu System:

• Sector: Gvurrdon
• Subsector: Dzen
• Hex: 1112
• Mainworld Name: Ksethu
• Primary: <Lantern> M2 V red dwarf, orange coloration
• Mainworld Type: Asteroid
• Mainworld Climate: Vacuum
• Gas Giants: 2 – both Size S (Large Gas Giant)
• Planetoid Belts: 2 – M (metals) and C (hydrocarbons)
• Filled Orbits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
• Mainworld UWP: A00089B-E
• Trade Classifications: As Ht Na Ph Pi Pz Va
• Nobility: none
• Allegiance: VSEq (up to 1116), VTzE (post-1116)
• Bases: none
• Zone: Amber (high Law and Government)
• Importance {Ix}: 2 – Ordinary, 20 ships weekly, 2-4 ships daily
• Economics (Ex): (E 7 D +4) - Resources E (14), Labor 7 (tens of millions), Infrastructure D (Comprehensive), Efficiency +4 (Advanced)
• Resource Units: 5096 RU
• Culture [Cx]: [A A 7 G] Homogeneity A (Discordant), Acceptance A (very friendly), Strangeness 7, Symbols G (16 very adaptable/compatible language and symbols)
• Native Status: no NILs
• Occupied Orbits – Inner
• 0 HZ Planetoid Belt M, Ksethu Rock Beltport A00089B-E As Ht Na Ph Pi Pz Va
• 1 HZ+1 Planetoid Belt C
• 2 Large Gas Giant S, .8 G required M-drive for skimming, 3 satellites
• 3 Large Gas Giant S, .8 G required M-drive for skimming, 5 satellites
• 4 IceWorld G376000-0 Ba Fr, 1 satellite
• 5 Inferno YAB0000-0 Ba, no satellites
• Occupied Orbits - Outer
• 6 IceWorld G589000-0 Ba Fr, no satellites
• 7 RadWorld F521000-0 Ba Fr, no satellites, orbital platform only
• 8 IceWorld G320000-0 Ba De Fr He, no satellites
• 9 BigWorld FACA39C-E Ht Lo Oc, Space Downport, 9000 population, no satellites
• 10 IceWorld G652000-0 Ba Fr, no satellites
• 11 IceWorld H320000-0 Ba De He, 1 satellite
• 12 BigWorld FFBA754-D Ht Oc, Space Downport, 10 million population, 1 satellite

Mainworld Data

No information yet available.

Mainworld Geography & Topography

No information yet available.

Native Lifeforms

No information yet available.

History & Background (Dossier)

Jumpspace emergence is relatively easy to approach Ksethu. Most if not all inbound vessels precipitate from jump near one of the two size S gas giants if capable of wilderness refueling. From there it is a coasting action to the innermost belt of planetoids belts. The Beltport, Ksethu Rock, is an A-rated facility with spacious shipyards and a wide variety of services. At Tech Level 14, almost all Vargr space- and starships can receive quality maintenance and ship construction. Final approach ships are granted a view of geodesic spheres that are artificially rotated, hydroponic gardens to simulate day and night and are a small source of food for the nearby Beltport. A hub for trade between four other worlds, Ksethu requires Jump-2 or Jump-3 (the more lucrative shipments) starship capability to make port.

World Starport

Ksethu has a Class A Starport, an excellent quality installation which includes all the expected amenities including refined fuel for starships, brokerage services for passengers and cargo, and a variety of ship provisions. There is a shipyard capable of doing annual maintenance, overhauls and other kinds of repair, and construction of both starships and non-starships. Most ports of this classification have both a Highport and a Downport.

• Spaceport installations of TL 13 and 14 are nestled on the big worlds in Orbits 9 and 12. The Oceanic planets harvest various chemicals that are then processed and shipped to Ksethu Rock Beltport for transfer to starship haulers outbound to the Jump-3 neighborhood. In-system commuting and transport is a common sight to and from the Starport in Orbit 0 about the red dwarf star. Many local spaceships feature scoops and processing systems even though refueling facilities at the Beltport are available. This cuts down overhead on almost all operations based on Ksethu. Ice for water is also plentiful and allows vessels to touch down on an ice planet to refuel in a pinch. The system is extremely abundant of its resources and allows for a healthy Beltport shipyard and shipping industry source and a crossroads.

World Technology Level

Ksethu possesses a Technology Level of TL–14 or TL-E in Hexadecimal Notation.

• Common Communication technologies for this TL include: Early meson communicators.
• Common Power Generation technologies for this TL include: Miniature super-batteries, early collectors, and advanced fusion plants.
• Common Transportation technologies for this TL include:
  • Land, Water & Air: Personal G-Tubes and advanced gravcraft.
  • Space: Advanced interplanetary spacecraft (System Craft).
  • FTL: Jump Drive-5.

World Government

Ksethu is governed by an Impersonal Bureaucracy. The leadership of the government is another form (democracy, dictatorship, oligarchy), but the bureaucracy dictates government policy and its execution. Government leadership is reduced to little more than figureheads and does not select the bureaucracy leadership or its members.

• There is a single central government, which imposes strict laws and rigid regulations.

World Military

No information yet available.

Further Governance Data

Both before and after the Equality War, Ksethu has been ruled by an Impersonal Bureaucracy of interests based around each planetoid belt, planet and satellite sources and further partitioned by hard and soft raw resources. The bureaucracy is then fragmented again by the separation of the local resources by space industry and planetary needs. While largely de-centralized, the installation of an overseeing governor from the Thirz Empire has kept a “paws-off” approach save where called to break ties in system administration meetings.

It can be attributed to the high Law Level, that Ksethu has a very low crime rate on a personal basis. Personal weapons are forbidden to civilians, especially after the embers of the Equality War. With such measures in place, the Thirz have only the occasional Corsair visit or smugglers to contend with. Most violence has been kept at personal, Infighting conflicts and is sporadic at best. Polls of civilians show that many want to preserve the safety regulations for the good of workers and the continuance of trade. Comprehensive infrastructure is made available to the local workers, belters, miners, refiners and Beltport staff as to further the welcome nature felt by visiting starships. Though movement between domicile and workspace is closely monitored by the Thirz Empire government over its conquered former-Dzen Aeng Kho, civilians, the process flows efficiently. Thus the system has been granted an ‘Advanced’ rating in system Efficiency. This combination of strict Law and Government by interest coupled with the low overhead, efficiency and infrastructure has awarded Ksethu with an Importance rating of 2, a semi-valuable world to its Jump-4 neighborhood. The Amber Interdiction rating put upon Ksethu is further justified by the lack of extraterritoriality at all docking facilities. Captains and crews are well advised to disarm upon leaving their ships, though personal armors are not forbidden to wear as safety is a concentrated effort on all levels of Asteroid world society. Both the Thirz Empire and the Society of Equals are puzzled by this live-and-let-live attitude of the conquered locals; hence the Puzzle Classification accompanying the Amber Interdiction label.

Before and after the Equality War, both ruling empires struggled to keep the population of Ksethu from swelling and already the Trade Classifications of Pre-High and Pre-Industrial threaten to increase demand for incoming comforts and consumables to ease the workforce enthusiasm. This has caused the Thirz Empire to consider opening the Edge to mercantile trade with rich Vaeghovangugh (Gvurrdon 1310) and populated Dzuerongvoe (Gvurrdon 1413) of the Society of Equals despite the anger held between Emissaries of both polities at the diplomacy table. This post-war enmity has been kept to a low simmer with help from Thirz ally, the Zhodani Consulate.

World Economy

An estimated 20 starships come and go weekly with an average of 2 to 4 ships arriving daily. This leaves the large shipyards room to construct ships and conduct minimal peripheral servicing. Trade analysis puts the Resource Units at a declared 5096 RU annually, which is above average and at the surface unsubstantiated for both the Society of Equals and the Thirz Empire whom have enjoyed its bounty as a member of each polity. Mineral ores are plentiful in both planetoid belts, ice world strip mining and on the thirteen rocky satellites of the planets.

Trade Data

No information yet available.

World Demographics

Six-hundred million Gvegh Vargr from the Dzen Aeng Kho <Society of Equals> call Ksethu home.

World Culture

Though under the shrouding label of an Amber Interdiction Zone for the combined Government and Law Level, the belters, miners, chemicals harvesters are generally widespread and give the local laws lip service as they go about business. Most civilians are very friendly despite the system changing hands during and after the Equality War. Ksethu Rock shows no sign of referendum to be returned to the Society of Equals and is content to conduct trade with their new owners, the Thirz Empire. Though there is some grumbling over taxes, many operations balance their opinions that the Thirz have not been oppressive with the installation of a Governor and his cabinet since the Equality War. Interstellar communications is very clear and concise, its Symbols rating a healthy dose of understanding despite the rigid political tension across the border – named the Edge – between the Thirz Empire and the Dzen Aen Kho. Despite tension between the Thirz Empire and the Society of Equals, many locals are content just to return to business and leave diplomacy to the Emissaries; local ‘Equals’ find little reason to quarrel with their Thirz administrators.

Urbanization

No information yet available.

Historical Data

No information yet available.

World Timeline

No information yet available.

UWP Listing

No information yet available.

1105 Classic Era

Ksethu is held by the Dzen Aeng Kho <Society of Equals> and is a military starship construction site as well as a raw resources trade hub.

1111-1116 Equality War

Ksethu was conquered by a counter move of the Thirz Empire during the Equality War. It is held though other worlds elected either for independence or to be returned to the Society of Equals in 1126.

1120 Rebellion Era

Ksethu hears of the Rebellion, but has little to say about the Third Imperium to Rimward.

1127 Hard Times

Due to its central location balanced by its Jump-2 and Jump-3 requirements to conduct trade, Ksethu sees little drop in its trade though passengers see a slight decline.

1130s Collapse and Virus Era

The upstream climb of Virus into Gvurrdon Sector comes mainly from the Collapse of the Thoengling Empire when a fleet of vampire ships penetrates its borders and is halted by a fire-break, Quarantine Line held by the Society of Equals. Further encouragement from Regency and the Zhodani Consulate seeks to reinforce the Quarantine though the Dzen Aeng Kho is wary of its Thirz Empire neighbor.

1200 The New Era

Having been spared the chaos of the Wilds, Ksethu continues to provide newly-constructed ships for the Quarantine Line patrols as well as Wilds exploratory vessels.

Other Data

Non-canon: The shipyard was contracted to build Dzen Class Strike Cruisers. There are 14 bodies in the solar system.

References & Contributors / Sources

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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.

• J. Andrew Keith, Marc Miller, John Harshman. Vargr (Game Designers Workshop, 1984), IBC. (full sector data)
• James Holden, Joe D. Fugate Sr., Terrance McInnes. Vilani & Vargr (Digest Group Publications, 1990), 11,47. (dot map provided)
• Simon Beal. Gvurrdon Sector (Mongoose Publishing, 2012), TBD.
• Fan Project: Gvurrdon Sector Campaignbook
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis), Captain, and Lead Naval Architect Ronald B. Kline, Jr. of the Imperial Navy
• Author & Contributor: The Pakkrat