The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Sector Eight (Althani Space)

The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica : Sector Eight (Althani Space)

By J Alan Erwine

Sample file

Sample file

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Nomadic Delirium Press Aurora, Colorado INTRODUCTION Welcome to The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Sector Eight , an examination of what is commonly known as Althani Space. The version you are reading is in the Human’s lingua franca . If you are not human, and would like to read it in your species’ native tongue, please consult a data bank on one of your species’ planets and download the appropriate version. Since it’s assumed that you are human, the text in this volume of the Encyclopedia is laid out in a way that will be easy for you to understand. Each star system is listed by the name that your species calls it, and the listings are arranged in order from the closest to your home system out to the ones farthest from your home system. All distances are listed in light years, since that’s what you use on your homeworld. It’s important to note that even though Sector Eight is considered Althani space, that is not meant to imply that the Althani control the entire sector, although it should be obvious that many Althani feel they should rule the entire sector, and some of them think that their military is strong enough to make this a reality. There are many star systems that are controlled by other species, or by organizations or corporations, or not controlled by anyone at all. Although the listings here are extensive, they are not complete. We have only listed the inhabited and the interesting systems. There are certainly other stars that do not appear in this book, usually because no one is living there, or nothing interesting is there. And while these listings are extensive, it’s certainly possible that we, the researchers, have missed some important star systems. The universe is a big place after all. Each listing in this text will follow this format: System name (common name, if it exists) , distance from Earth in light years, type of star(s). After this information, we will give you pertinent details about the planets, moons, and other objects in the system that are of importance. (Editor’s notes: any information that is pertinent to the running of a game will appear like this. These types of things could be changes to a CS, or other modifications that you might need to make, or maybe just ideas that you could incorporate into your game. Not all systems will have these notes.) Sample file

Epsilon Indi: 11.8 ly K5V This is the home system of the Althani. Compared to most colonized systems, this one is quite odd. The main star has two brown dwarf stars that orbit at 1,500 AU. As a result of the large amount of mass taken up by these two dwarf stars, there are only two planets in the system. The second planet, Thoc is roughly one and a half times the mass of Earth, and this is where the Althani evolved. The planet currently has eight billion Althani living on it. The Althani have also set up space stations around the gas giant that is the first planet in the system, as well as around both of the brown dwarfs at the edge of their solar system. Without any other planets or even decent moons to colonize, the Althani quickly realized they had to move out into other star systems, and this may be yet another reason why they tend to be aggressive colonizers.

Lacaille 8760: 12.87 ly M2Ve There are no planets in this system, only planitesimals, some of which are large enough to hold a small base. The Althani were disappointed when they first reached this system because they’d been hoping for colonizable planets. However, Lacaille 8760 is a flare star, and even though it’s not a particularly violent flare star, the Althani quickly realized that this would be a great place to train their troops. As a result, at any particular time, there will be more than ten million Althani training in this system. They practice all kinds of combat here from hand to hand to ship to ship.

Gliese 832: 16.1 ly M1.5v The star in this system may be small, but the trouble in this system is anything but. More than a century ago, the Althani colonized a moon around the largest gas giant in the system. The colony, called Menk, is currently home to more than three billion Althani, and they’ve transformed the atmosphere to a point that they can breathe the air without suits and breathers. The majority of the inhabitants are military or corps employees. The colony on Menk is not the problem,Sample however. file There is a smallish terrestrial planet about .5 AU from Gliese 832, and this planet and its moon have been colonized by humans. The colonization took place 30 years ago, and there are already one billion humans inhabiting the planet (New New York) and the moon (New Buffalo). Humans can breathe on the planet, but they need suits to walk on the surface of the moon, which is why the colony is built completely underground. Many of the humans work for the human corps, but a number of them work for the military, and it’s believed that many of those are working for covert branches of the military; almost certainly spying on the Althani. The humans have argued that Gliese 832 should actually be considered a part of their sector, but the Althani have been here for quite a bit longer. The Althani don’t take well to others infringing on their space, and there have been several battles fought in this system. So far, both species’ governments have refused to get involved, instead allowing the military forces assigned to these colonies to battle it out. So far, things have stayed at a level of a few ships fighting at a time, but there is always a chance, and it’s a good chance, that things will boil over and all-out war will break out in this system.

Delta Pavonis: 20 ly G8IV Signals from Delta Pavonis were the first ever detected on Earth as the first signs of alien intelligence. This was just before humans discovered hyperspace travel. As a result, this was the first system humans visited once they’d colonized the few closest stars. They were not welcomed with open arms (of the two or four variety). War didn’t break out between the Althani and the Humans, but the Humans were certainly sent back to their home systems with their proverbial tails between their legs. There are two inhabited planets and one inhabited moon in this system, all of them colonized by the Althani. The second and third planets are named Jun and Vron. Each has been completely “terraformed,” so the seven billion Althani on each planet have no trouble walking on the surface. The moon, Kren has most of its colony built underground, with a few extremely thick domes rising up from the underground. The current population of Kren is just over one billion. As with most systems, the Althani keep a large military presence in this system. Most of the major Althani corps also keep offices somewhere in this system.

Gliese 783: 20 ly K2V This binary star system is inhabited by more of those pesky humans. Our apologies to any humans reading this, but that’s generally how the Althani feel about humanity, especially those humans that keep colonizing in “Althani” space. The colony, Arizonia, is a small terrestrial planet with an atmosphere that has a high enough pressure for the humans to be on the surface without suits, but the gasses of the atmosphere are still toxic, so the humans have to use masks. There are currently two billion humans on this world, a mix of scientists, military, corp employees, and the general colonists that are needed to help a colony survive. The human corp ExploraCorp has a major presence on this planet, and this is not popular with the Althani, who view ExploraCorp as a major reason why the humans are in “their” space. There are no other habitable planets in this system, and so the Althani have reluctantly accepted the human presence, although they do keep a large military presence just beyond the heliopause of the system…just in case… Sample file Zeta Tucanae: 28 ly F9V This star system is still in the process of forming, and a large debris disk orbits the star, where planet forming is taking place. At this time, there are no significant planets, and so colonization beyond space stations is not possible in this system. However, most of the major species (the exception being the Tulmath) have a presence in this system. Many are mining the debris, while it’s widely believed that the humans and the Culthan are building military bases. The Althani do have military bases in the system, at least three of them, and to say the least, they are not too happy about all of these aliens being in “their” space. At this time, there have been no major conflicts in this system, but there are occasional skirmishes, and one day, one of those will probably boil over.

Gamma Pavonis: 30 ly F6V There are three inhabited planets and one inhabited moon in this system. The second, third, and fourth planets have all been colonized by the Althani, with the second being completely “terraformend.” The Althani need masks on both the third and fourth planets. The second planet is named Toran, the third planet is named Venka, and the fourth planet is named Penko. All of these planets contain a mix of corps, military, and some scientists. The planets have eight billion, three billion, and two billion inhabitants respectively.