Before the Collapse, Ongael had a light manufacturing capacity. Its chief
export was able-bodied young vargr for the Alliance's war effort. Early efforts
to become an agricultural world met stiff natural opposition in the form of a
fungus that attacked both food crops and livestock. Ever resistant to fungicides
and with insufficient natural predators to keep it in check, Ongael was forced
to import food to meet the needs of its population.
While Virus did its share of damage, famine and warfare were worse. 90% of
Ongaelians have perished since the 1120 census. On the plus side, strains of
fungus-resistant plants and animals have come to dominate their respective gene
pools. While the fungus still lives, it has retreated. The people finally have
enough to eat. Exports are permitted after foodstuffs are processed on world and
undergo irradiation to ensure that the fungus does not have opportunity to
spread to other worlds.
Thaenenksoung is a dry, cold world. Its few seas are covered in ice. Normally reliant upon imports, the locals were forced to drill through the ice to fish for food and explore the world's limited selection of flora for edibility. The road to 1202 was fraught with starvation. Many lost hope and committed suicide. The population is one-third what it was in 1120.
The Oghagzugon Corporation specialized in agriculture and agricultural
research. It sought to domesticate the animals on Oghagzugon and breed them
into more docile livestock. High oxygen levels (the taint) made this somewhat
difficult as the wildlife has evolved to take advantage of these conditions.
They are often too strong to subdue without killing the animal, thus forcing the
corporation to utilize genetic engineers to work with clones, a more expensive
method.
Their work was interrupted by the 17th Disjuncture, who preferred the
world in its natural state. A corsair base was built with the intent to raid
Opposition Alliance worlds and the employees had to put servicing the
corsairs' needs above that of the company's.
An infected corsair took a nosedive into the base, destroying it. The survivors
from both the corporation and the corsair base have splintered into smaller
groups in hopes of survival against carnivores and each other. The Tagan
Pack realizes that it will have to provide a large occupational force if the
world is to be utlized for resettling refugees.
Etsuksuegongosedz and its asteroid belt served as a source of minerals for the Kfothoeghuel Concordat. A band of corsairs, the Oksegvakhsdedellig, provided security and raided ships that opted to refuel at one of the gas giants instead of at the starport.
Rraerrg lies 0.4 AU's from its primary, a K6 V orange dwarf, which might
otherwise make the world a bit chilly. However, high levels of carbon dioxide
have warmed the place up after centuries of industrial output. The world's small
seas, located around the equator are now ice free year round.
By 1122, the balkanized world saw 37% of its states pulling for secession from
the Kfothoeghuel Concordat and thus the Opposition Alliance. Their
argument being that the Ruler of Five had the right idea in driving
rimward to attack the weakened Imperium. In 1123 these states saw its citizens
protesting in the cities. In 1124 the secessionist protests turned into riots.
The states withdrew from the Rraerrg Council and refused to participate in any
more activities deemed to aid the war footing. For the first year, the other
nations were able to hold up their end for the Alliance but in 1126, a few
states grew tired of the holdouts' posturing and went to war with them.
Contributions to the Opposition Alliance from Rraerrg dropped off in 1127
as the world was embroiled in war. Once the Opposition Alliance crumbled
in 1128, the wars ended. The Ruler of Five ceased hostilities against
the Kfothoeghuel Concordat and thus the holdouts ultimately got their
way.
With an atmosphere full of sulfur dioxide and seas of sulfuric acid, it's a
wonder anyone at all lives on this hot (avg temp 46°C) corrosive world. The
Dzougodzvae Resources Corporation turns the planet's weapons into its
tools. The planet has an overabundance of Tungsten in the form of the mineral,
Wolframite. Tungsten does not react with sulfuric acid but the other
elements in the mineral do so Dzougodzvae is able to easily isolate the valuable
metal and turn a tidy profit.
Dzougodzvae also mines the asteroid belts for nickel and iron.
The starport was built inside a small crater and sealed over with tungsten
doors. The doors are relatively small and can not accommodate anything larger
than 200 dtons. A lava tube pierces the crater and serves as the entrance to
the world's only settlement.
Although a bit on the cold side (avg temp -11.2°C), Kir's plant life is well adapted to the cold and takes full advantage of the warmer months. While most plant life is unpalatable to either human or vargr taste, the livestock that are raised here love it and bulk up quickly when set loose to graze. A Kir steak is renowned throughout the subsector.
Competition was the name of the game on Koeth. The nations on this balkanized rock strove to outdo one another in terms of science and technology. The winners not only attracted customers for their wares but the best and brightest workers. While there were other TL-E worlds in the subsector in 1120, theirs was the leading research and development center paid for by investment from the more affluent worlds in the Kfothoeghuel Concordat. With the Ruler of Five bearing down on the Opposition Alliance, the big brains of Koeth are under tremendous pressure to develop the breakthroughs that will advance them to TL-15.
Khueg took a different approach to technological innovation that its allies
on Koeth. Rather than have several different outfits working
on a project simultaneously, they chose to gather together in one location to
brainstorm and then the idea worth pursuing would be put to a vote. The winning
approach would then be developed. If the approach failed, a new vote was taken.
Various organizations on Rraerrg paid the innovators on Khueg
to come up with solutions to their technological problems at a tech level that
they could implement. The more gracious clients shared a sizable portion of
their profits with them.
The equatorial region and lower latitudes of Thaedaes are a scorcher (Global
average temperate 40°C). A great desert runs along the equator like a giant
yellow belt. Large swathes of the population are migratory. They spend their
summers at the poles but flee them at the onset of winter.
Thaedaes always produced just enough food and manufactured enough goods to
supply their own needs. Investment in infrastructure was always a prudent
choice, and ensured stablility through the centuries. It was why the
Kfothoeghuel Concordat Navy chose to build a base here. Enough money was
further supplied to upgrade the starport to A class and soon Thaedaes found
itself involved in the complex manufacturing of starships for others.
Gellgurroeko's large population made it an ideal recruiting center for the
Concordat Navy. A prominent trading world, it also served as the gateway to
Concordat worlds in the Rael subsector. As these worlds fell, Gellgurroeko
became the line beyond which the Ruler of Five could not pass.
The subsector capital and the namesake world of the Kfothoeghuel
Concordat. Originally settled by humans seeking to escape the stifling grip
of the Ziru Sirka. When the vargr came, they were greeted as spiritual
brothers. Surprised by this open arms attitude, the invading vargr not only
didn't fire a shot, they settled peacefully alongside the humans. This benefited
both species; the humans found partners while the vargr were able to build on
the technological infrastructure that the humans had constructed.
Through the centuries, the human population has stayed roughly the same but the
vargr population exploded. Although the world is balkanized, war has been a rare
event. The grand spirit of cooperation from when the two races met has been
ingrained in the global culture. Differences are handled in a world court and
the losing side almost always abides by the decision. Failure to abide by the
court's decision tends to earn the wrath of those who aren't involved.
Disturbing the global peace is an affront that few will tolerate.
The Concordat started out as a trade group then evolved into a mutual defense
pact. It spearheaded the formation of the Opposition Alliance against the
Ruler of Five rimward expansion.
In the early days, Uekhsdhoeve made a name for itself as a tourist haven. Over the centuries, a percentage of the touists chose to remain here, either in retirement or to work in "paradise". Aquaculture became a burgeoning industry and for a time the world was an exporter. But the population hasn't stopped growing. Now Uekhsdhoeve consumes almost all of the food it produces. Some foresighted leaders recognized that the world needed to develop in other ways that would've been considered anathema before. The establishment of a Concordat Naval base provided the necessary seed money for this diversification.
Aerugurzngou is a hot world where the presence of sulfur dioxide has rendered
the atmosphere unbreathable. While the concentration is not high enough for it
to be considered corrosive, the irritant nature of the gas is enough such that
anyone on the surface needs to be in a hazmat suit with their own air supply.
There is life here, though it is of microbial nature. A dedicated group of
xenobiologists are studying the lifeforms in hopes of developing some new
industrial or medical applications. While their research is often paid for by
companies on Koeth and Khueg, the real
funding for the research and operating the colony comes from mining leases sold
to belters.
Sometimes war will make a person do thing they would not ordinarily do. Take
the current ruler of Uersthoe, King Ansaegh Uersthoe IV. As the forces of the
Ruler of Five have come closer and closer, he has tightened restrictions
on everything from fishing quotas to personal freedoms. The world has seen its
law level rating jump from 4 to 9 in just the past decade. King Uersthoe is
certain that there are spies about, planning to take him down and overthrow the
world.
These moves have made the king incredibly unpopular. Were it not for the
presence of a Concordat Naval base to back him up, it is quite possible that
King Uersthoe would have a real rebellion on his paws.
Gvogvelineaeloe is a hot desert world with an atmosphere composed primarily of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. For a time, the inhabitants made their livelihood through the export of valuable natural resources like lanthanum, bauxite, cobalt ores, and germanite. Unfortunately the war with the Ruler of Five has depressed the local economy. Shipping has constantly been under threat such that unless traders are armed, or with military escort, it is almost certain that they'll be attacked. All of their clients in Arena subsector have been lost. They hope that some sort of truce will be declared soon and that trade relations can be established with the new masters of their old clients.
Times should be good for the Gakathelorr Corsairs, but it isn't. Too many of their ranks have defected to the Ruler of Five forces. They see the Opposition Alliance as living on borrowed time. The Ruler of Five fleets are just too strong and too well organized. Many within the Alliance expect Gakathelorr to switch allegiances and have begun to exclude them from strategy meetings and considering them as the next vector of Ruler of Five encroachment into the subsector.
Dengkhadz was originally an agricultural world whose exports were gobbled up by worlds not only throughout this subsector but in Arena, Lues, and Raen subsectors as well. But the war with the Ruler of Five saw a sharp decrease in clients and massive increase in refugees. A dramatic drop in revenue has led to a decline in infrastructure already suffering from raids. Humanitarian support for the refugees has only added to the strain. Now the world only grows enough food to feed itself.
High levels of chlorine (60 ppm) in the atmosphere have not deterred several
million people from settling here. While the concentration is not high enough to
be considered corrosive, going outside unprotected is fatal within 30 minutes.
But there is life here, both flora and fauna. It is edible, but requires a
conversion process, as per the shugilii of Vland, to get there. Food
imports are popular.
The economy is driven by the export of chemicals, ranging from industrial gasses
to pharmaceutical compounds, not to mention several varities of chloride-based
minerals.
A cool world, Sodzogzaen is a bit of a backwater. The growing season is far
too short to become an agricultural exporter. The issue is compounded by sulfur
compounds in the atmosphere, the result of extensive volcanic activity decades
ago which cooled off the planet.
A few thousand people still live here, typically independent minded folk who
want to escape the rat race. The world has no real industry besides its TL-9 fab
kits. It primarily serves as a refuelling station for travelers.
This desert world is a scorcher (Avg temp 84°C). Its unappealing nature made a steal for the Kfeksghorrarrgh corsair band. They sell leases out to belters and a handful of mining companies willing to brave the heat. The corsairs also take a 15% cut of the perceived value of the hauls but they guarantee the safety of anyone willing to abide by their terms. Those who don't incur their wrath.