Difference between revisions of "Emerald (world)"
WHULorigan (talk | contribs) |
|||
| Line 41: | Line 41: | ||
{{MonostellarSystem | {{MonostellarSystem | ||
| − | |name = | + | |name = Lustre |
|primary = M1 V | |primary = M1 V | ||
|PrimaryNotes = | |PrimaryNotes = | ||
Revision as of 15:37, 23 March 2021
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| See also | UWP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
style="width: 220px; height: 250px;"
Jump map from Travellermap.com [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary | M1 V | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Worlds | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gas Giants | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Planetoid Belts | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cultural Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Feudal technocracy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Law Level | Moderate | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cultural Extension | 3739 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army Size (BEs) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Economic Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technology Level | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Economic Extension | E46+1
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Importance Extension | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resource Units | 336 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| GWP (BCr) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Trade Number | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Trade Volume (MCr/year) | 1,890 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Starport Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Class-B | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Port Size | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Building Capacity (Tons) | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Port employees | 14,780 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Port passengers (annual) | 3,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emerald is an agricultural world with an ideal environment for producing food from plants, animals, or other forms. It supports a shirt-sleeve atmosphere and a balance of available surface water. The system hosts a population between 100 thousand and 1 million. It is a member of Third Imperium in the Jewell Subsector of Spinward Marches Sector and in the Domain of Deneb. Emerald, as a member world of the Third Imperium, holds the estates of an Imperial knight and a baronet, and the fiefdom of a baron. All three are members of the Imperial Nobility charged with overseeing the world. This world contains an Imperial Scout Base, capable of handling Scout Service starships and personnel.
| Emerald System | |||
| Jewell/Spinward Marches 1006 | |||
| Position | Distance | Name | UWP |
| Primary | 'Lustre' | 'M1 V' | |
| 0 | 0.2 AU | Emerald | B766555-B |
| 1 | 0.4 AU | Phantome | Large GG |
| 1 | 1 | * Ring System' | YR00000-0 |
| 2 | 2 | * Ring System' | YR00000-0 |
| 3 | 6 | * Mitchell' | Y300267-B |
| 4 | 7 | * Ruapehu' | Y200000-0 |
| 5 | 9 | * Sacrist' | Y410000-0 |
| 6 | 10 | * Alcharam' | Y732000-0 |
| 7 | 25 | * Dervish' | Y510000-0 |
| 8 | 40 | * Minime' | YS00000-0 |
| 9 | 45 | * Stoly' | YS00000-0 |
| 2 | 0.7 AU | Planetoid Belt | Y000000-0 |
| 3 | 1.0 AU | Siishisha | Large GG |
| 1 | 2 | * Ring System' | YR00000-0 |
| 2 | 5 | * Khudalin' | YS00000-0 |
| 3 | 40 | * Gakhidar' | Y100000-0 |
| 4 | 55 | * Khuulamdiir' | Y401000-0 |
| 5 | 300 | * Gamuur' | Y320000-0 |
| 4 | 1.6 AU | Planetoid Belt | Y000000-0 |
| 5 | 2,8 AU | Ashakha | Small GG |
| 1 | 7 | * Shimgeru' | YS00000-0 |
| 6 | 5.2 AU | Planetoid Belt | Y000000-0 |
| 7 | 10 AU | Karaku | Small GG |
| 1 | 1 | * Ring System' | YR00000-0 |
| 8 | 27.4 AU | Chasseur | Y100000-0 |
Astrography & Planetology
- It is part of the Jewell Cluster.
Monostellar System
Lustre Monostellar System Star Name Hierarchy Category Mass (Sol) Temp (K) Luminosity (Sol) Lustre M1 V
Primary Main Sequence 0.5 3620 - 3660 0.08839 Unit Diameter Min Distance Hab Zone Jump Shadow M-Drive Limit AU 0.0023 0.0247 0.31 - 0.59 0.23 2.3 Orbit # * * 1 0 5
IISS GURPS Astrographics Survey
1006 Emerald (Imperial)
Starport: Class IV - Scout Base.
Diameter: 7,025 miles (11,200 km).
Atmosphere: Standard oxygen-nitrogen.
Hydrographics: 61%.
Climate: Warm.
Population: 530,000.
Government: Oligarchy (Emerald Development Council).
Control Level: 2.
Tech Level: 9.
World Trade Number: 4.0.
History & Background (Dossier)
The people of Emerald are, for the most part, third to fifth generation colonists, just beginning to make a fair living off the land they have cleared for farming or raising groats. Those not directly involved in agriculture are employed at the starport facility or in various transport capacities. [2]
Beyond the major settlements of Emerald lie a great amount of unclaimed land known as the Outback, open for colonization when practical. A particularly radical movement has begun among some of the settlers of the outback known as the Chukniang, who are adverse to having any new settlements begun on what they consider their territory.[2]
The scout base at Emerald is quite small and is used as a training facility. The people of Emerald make a fair living from farming or raising groats, but much of Emerald remains unclaimed outback. The only humans in the outback are Chukniang renegade nomads who claim all this area as their own. [3]
Imperial High (Landed) Nobility
Emerald, as a member world of the Third Imperium, holds the estates of three members of the Imperial Nobility, who are charged with overseeing the world.
- It holds the estate of an Imperial knight.
- It holds the estate of an Imperial baronet.
- It holds the fiefdom of an Imperial baron.
Other Data
Emerald was settled in 308, by the followers of disgraced Sylean nobleman Aklas Ecannis. Ecannis, the Duke of Ecan (Core 2316), was executed for cowardice in 306, following the Battle of Concorde during the Aslan Border Wars. Stripped of title and privilege, Ecannis' family was permitted to emigrate to the Spinward Marches. By calling in old favours, the newly widowed Eritrea Ecannis was able to secure a charter to settle Jewell. About two hundred family and retainers arrived in late 308, and founded the first settlement at Eritrea.
Although self-sufficient, the colony grew only slowly. Periodically, labourers and craftsmen would be recruited from Jewell and Regina, but settlement remained largely confined to the area around Eritrea. Although a part of the Imperium, Emerald remained unrepresented to the Imperial Court (by decree in 306, no member of the Ecannis family was permitted to hold title). As the imperial presence in the area grew, Emerald began exporting agricultural products to the rapidly growing Jewell (already emerging as a major industrial world).
Nonetheless, contact with offworlders remained confined to the small 'E' class starport at Masand Caldera, and Emerald remained isolationist. The Ecannis family allowed no further settlement, and restricted offworlders to the starport compound. This self-imposed isolation was to be stretched to breaking point as tensions between the Imperium and the Zhodani Consulate rose, and ultimately shattered by the outbreak of the First Frontier War.
From 510 onwards, Imperial Navy fleet elements deployed to the Emerald system from the naval base on Jewell for maneuvers. The Navy established a small service facility in the outer system, although craft did occasionally land on the mainworld. In 540, Grand Admiral Severin Gouden appointed a legate to the small settlement, mainly to coordinate the requisition of foodstuffs, and keep an eye on the politically suspect natives (as early as 460, Imperial Naval Intelligence suspected Zhodani sympathies in the Ecannis family). Emerald's starport was also upgraded to 'D' class, over the protests of the planet's rulers.
With the Zhodani invasion of Imperial space in 591, martial law was declared on Emerald. Members of the Ecannis family thought to be 'unreliable' were interned on Jewell as Imperial forces were pushed back from their original defensive positions. The Zhodani attacked and captured Jewell in 592, and were to remain in possession of the world almost until the war's end.
During the Zhodani occupation, the world was used as a prison camp for partisans captured on Jewell, and the world was forced to endure the presence of large numbers of Zhodani ground troops.
Following Admiral Plankwell's recapture of Jewell in 603, Zhodani forces evacuated Emerald and fled into Consulate space. Imperial troops liberated the world shortly afterwards, but a large garrison was kept in place beyond the war's end. In 606, the Ecannis family was allowed to return to Emerald. Limitations on offworlder-native contact remained, but were increasingly hard to enforce. This was illustrated by the decision of the Ecannis heir, Sar Valain Ecannis to apply for the Imperial Naval Academy in 608. His decision outraged his relatives, but they were powerless to stop him after he received the somewhat unexpected support of the Imperial legate.
Sar Valain went on to distinguish himself in the Second Frontier War, and as a squadron commander for Admiral (later Empress) Arbellatra Akhalikoi during the later stages of the Civil War. Sar Valain returned to Emerald in 626, as the new Imperial legate, and was instrumental in persuading the Ecannis family to restrict the most stringent of their isolationist practises. On becoming head of the Ecannis family in 630, Empress Arbellatra rescinded the decrees against the Ecannis family issued by Empress Porphyria in 306, and Sar Valain was named Baron Emerald. The office of Imperial legate to Emerald was dissolved.
Sar Valain's descendants concentrated on developing Emerald's export economy. Large tracts of land were cultivated, using increasingly sophisticated agrotechnology. By 900, Emerald was supplying large amounts of grain to Jewell, despite its small population. The starport facilities were progressively upgraded to their current capabilities as the Imperial (and later Regency) Navy increased its presence in the system. This pattern has been uninterrupted since, despite occupation by the Zhodani in the Third and Fifth Frontier Wars.
History-Era: Rebellion
Emerald's highly automated agricultural industry faced upheaval when the first reports of Virus filtered into the Regency. The enforced switch from autonomous to supervised robotics was expensive and damaging to the world's economy - damage which is still felt by many on Emerald. Production is once again approaching pre-1130 levels, but further progress is hampered by an acute labour shortage on this isolationist world. Emerald's leaders, reluctant to hire offworlders to enlarge their labour pool, took the unprecedented step of allowing Zhodani refugees to settle. The decision was the subject of long and bitter debate, but the first Zhodani were finally admitted in 1201. The arrival of nearly thirty thousand Zhodani refugees is likely to have profound effects on the social structure of Emerald. The long-term result of these effects will be, to say the least, interesting to observe.
Only a small proportion of refugees arriving on Emerald are allowed to stay; the rest are sent on to the holding camps on Jewell. Those that do stay are absorbed directly into Emerald's rather stratified society. The Ecannis family still rules on Emerald, as the Five Families. Each of the Five Families is responsible for an area of activity on Emerald, and is largely independent of both the other four families and the ruling Head. The current Five Families are: Ecannis-Astrakhanna (starport facilities, energy production), Ecannis-Shtabul (food production and export), Ilike (mineral production and export), Farsi-Ecannis (construction and infrastructure) and Ecannis-Valain (communications, information and administration). Smaller branches of the Ecannis family control other activities, normally under the guidance and direction of one of the Five. Baron Emerald (also known as the Head) comes from the Ecannis-Valain branch, succession is passed through the male line.
Below the level of the ruling families, rank and position is largely based on merit. Particularly powerful, skilled or successful individuals are often rewarded with marriage or adoption into a Family, giving them effectively 'noble' status. At the bottom of the ladder are the workers, although given the small population and high technology of the world, even these are skilled, rather than unskilled workers, and enjoy a good standard of living. It is among this class that the labour shortage is most acutely felt. The shortage of skilled workers has placed severe constraints on the Families' ability to export food and mineral products, but the inherent isolationism (which can cross the line into xenophobia) of the world makes solving this problem difficult. Newly arriving Zhodani refugees are 'adopted' into a family and its vassals, depending on their skills.
When entering the system, travellers will normally find themselves exiting j-space near Phantome (orbit 1, large gas giant). A beacon at the regular jump exit point directs incoming ships to the Regency Quarantine Station on Mitchell, a smallish moon orbiting Phantome. Standard quarantine procedures will be followed (see the Jewell and Ruby papers for further details) by Regency Quarantine Service staff before the incoming vessel will be cleared to travel in-system to Emerald.
Approaching the mainworld, it is quickly apparent that Emerald lives up to its name. Much of its land surface is covered in uncleared vegetation, and its generally shallow seas also have a greenish tinge. Emerald truly is an inviting world when viewed from orbit - only its presence near the Zhodani border prevented further settlement. Emerald Starport (Masand Caldara) is a small 'B' class facility closely tied to the Scout base. Its small repair facility is not normally available for public use, although emergency repairs are possible. Refined fuel is available at the public facility, but is expensive (Cr 6,500/ton) as are berthing fees (Cr 200/day).
The starport lies some 50 km southeast of Eritrea, the oldest and largest town with a population of about 14,000. Travel by air/raft takes about 15 minutes, or about 30 minutes in extreme weather conditions. There is a road link to the starport, but its use is mainly confined to freight haulage. As the passenger approaches Eritrea, he/she will notice the walled compounds just outside the town's edge. These are private estates belonging to the Families and their servants, and are off-limits to visitors without an invitation. The larger Families maintain a number of compounds, near to their major concerns.
The common folk of Emerald are polite, if somewhat reticent. Contact and conversation with offworlders is not encouraged among the general population. The Ecannis-Valain family maintains a Liaison Centre in Eritrea, where younger members of this family are on hand to interface between visitors and the locals. The Liaison Centre can be found in the Carpaty Plaza, next to the offices of the Jewell Embassy.
Emerald gains its name from the greenish hues of the glacial seas that make up more than 50% of the world's surface. Much of the rest of the planet's surface is frozen, save for isolated "hot spots" where geyser-like mineral springs emanate from the planet's interior. These slushy areas are marginally habitable, rising slightly above the melting point of water ice. Commonly referred to as "sleetmarshes", these serve as the centers of human habitation on-planet and require extensive terraforming and terraform maintenance to maintain their viability.
The inhabitants of Emerald, or "Emeraldas" (as they refer to themselves), are a hardy and energetic lot, and their social organization is geared towards making their less-than-paradisian planet a productive one.
The Emerald Planetary Management Committee is comprised of experts in the areas of terraforming, engineering, weather control, power systems, and agriculture. The committee includes all those who meet certain qualification standards; every ten years, computer-selected resumes are presented to the council for review. It takes a two-thirds majority vote to deny a selectee his or her seat on the committee. Once seated, a committee member serves until death or retirement. The committee is responsible for the development and maintenance of the planetary infrastructure.
Regional and local "executaries" and their subordinate technicians or "operatives" are hired by their immediate superiors, though resumes are again initially selected by computer. These agents are responsible for maintaining the complex infrastructure that supports human habitation, including geothermal power stations, irrigation systems, weather control stations, heating arrays, and communication and navigation satellites.
Executaries have extensive authority in the districts where they preside, though their performance must be reviewed and contracts renewed every five years. They may hire and fire subordinate executaries and operatives. They may assess and collect taxes within their district. Within their purview, they may administer justice for certain categories of crimes and misdemeanors; however, serious crimes are generally remanded to Imperial authority.
Special executaries in charge of new construction and other critical projects can be appointed at the regional level, by the District Executary, or at the planetary level, by the PMC.
Most Emeraldas are small landholders, farmers on the sleetmarshes. A recent initiative by the PMC intends to collectivize these smaller farms into large cooperatives in the name of efficiency. There is, naturally enough, resistance to this plan, and a fierce debate is ongoing within the committee as to its wisdom.
References & Contributors (Sources)
- Marc Miller. The Spinward Marches (Game Designers Workshop, 1979), 12-13.
- Marc Miller. The Spinward Marches Campaign (Game Designers Workshop, 1985), 18-19.
- Timothy B. Brown, J. Andrew Keith. Alien Realms (Game Designers Workshop, 1986), 10-11.
- Marc Miller. Imperial Encyclopedia (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), 94-100. (UWP only)
- Rob Caswell. "Domain of Deneb: Sector Data." MegaTraveller Journal 3 (1992): 47-58. (UWP only)
- Dave Nilsen. The Regency Sourcebook (Game Designers Workshop, 1995), 37. (UWP only)
- Martin Dougherty, Neil Frier. Behind the Claw (Steve Jackson Games, 1998), 59.
- Mike West. The Spinward States (Avenger Enterprises, 2008), 99. (UWP only)
- Martin Dougherty. The Spinward Marches (Mongoose Publishing, 2008), .
- Citation Missing - Behind the Claw (UWP only)
- Michael Bailey - Rice Papers SM 1006
- ↑ "Jump Map API" and map location from Travellermap.com
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Timothy B. Brown, J. Andrew Keith. Alien Realms (Game Designers Workshop, 1986), 10.
- ↑ Martin Dougherty, Neil Frier. Behind the Claw (Steve Jackson Games, 1998), 51.