Antares

Antares debris-strewn, war-torn desert system Terra Φ cluster
System attributes
Technology	0
Environment	+1
Resources	-3
Aspects
A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
Do You Take Blood Money?
No Welcome Mat
Connections
Sephii, Zash'ar

{{#set:system name = Antares }}{{#set:system in cluster = Terra Φ }}{{#set:blurb = debris-strewn, war-torn desert system }}{{#set:technology = 0 }}{{#set:environment = +1 }}{{#set:resources = -3 }}{{#set:connected to = Sephii}}{{#set:connected to = Zash'ar}}

Physical description

Antares itself is a red giant. Due to the high proportion of its radiation that falls into the infrared spectrum, the habitable worlds orbiting it have all have a relatively low amount of visible light, and all fall into a narrow band which neither become too hot nor too cool as the star's light emissions fluctuate. The system is one full of asteroids, and there are many scores of bodies that classify as planets or dwarfs; frequently, the inhabited worlds undergo solar eclipses due to the other bodies passing between them and the sun. The sheer number of hazards means that anyone without significant expertise as a pilot is likely not to make it to their destination. All four inhabitable planets, and most of the system, at that, consist primarily of iron, with only trace deposits of other elements on the surface, barely enough to sustain life. In all cases, population centres are most common around the relatively cool poles.

Acheron

The smallest of the inhabitable words, Acheron is, technically, classified as a dwarf planet. The closest of the four worlds to the star, it has the highest temperatures, and, due to its lower mass and proportionally smaller atmosphere, it suffers greater fluctuations between day and night. These features, combined with the scarcity of water, make Acheron at least an unpleasant, if not fatal, place for any unprepared visitors that make it to the world. Acheron is also the only world in the system not currently under the dominion of the inhabitants of Antares 19. Acheron has the fastest orbital period as well, at 5.3 Earth years, but, like all the worlds, it uses Antares 19's years as a point of reference. The people are mostly tribal, but with the recent rebellion, the fighting amongst themselves has dropped dramatically, and the world is run by a militant government.

As might be expected in a culture with such militant tendencies, the speech used by the natives of this planet and those nearby reflects this: greetings might range from "May your spear never rust," a neutral greeting which indicates at least no ill-will to the recipient, to the somewhat friendlier "Foes' blood guide you to shade;" still, there are a number of such phrases of varying degrees. Likewise, a farewell might range from the near-threat "When we meet again," to "Stills and shade" (stills being the main method of attaining water for many). The majority of both revolve around water, blood, shade, weapons, and battle. Amongst the people of Acheron, truces are usually kept, mercy granted except in the case of blood feuds, and offers of water or shelter close to inviolate offers of peace until the person departs, should they accept. These things usually do not extend as far as the Ninets, but for those from other world, it varies from Acheronian to Acheronian.

Antares 17 and 18

These two worlds form the bases for the system's continued near-well-being. Sparsely watered, hot, and with a population now greater than they themselves could sustain, it is the export of their population which sustains the people of these worlds and of Antares 19, and the tribal elite still do what they can to guide the people, keeping them beneath the heels of the people of Nineteen.

Antares 19

Its relatively high distance from the star it orbits, even if compared only with the other three planets, Antares is also the largest, granting it the opposite of the Acheron's features... relatively speaking, for, while it is cooler, without the technology that the Ninets, as the inhabitants are scornfully dubbed in a single, mashed syllable, have kept for themselves, the cities would be far less bearable than they are at presence. They also have a near monopoly on military technology... and, for that matter, advanced technology in general, for they are the ones who trade with the Sephii. In spite of the relatively good conditions and the ability to grow more food in those conditions than their neighbouring planets, and in spite of the planet's smaller size, Antares 17 and 18 both have a higher population. A year on Antares 19 is equivalent to 7.83 earth years, and each Antares year is divided into five equal 'fragments', labelled alpha through epsilon.

Astrography

• Antares has four inhabitable planets
• The habitable zone of Antares ranges from 178AU to 382 AU

History

The Antares cluster was never intended to be a permanent habitation; how it ended up as one is the matter of some speculation, whether it be a science mission gone wrong, a colony ship gone astray, or something else entirely. Whatever the case, the harsh environment, in which no life existed prior to the arrival of the colonists and their highly ineffective attempts at terraforming, led to a swift decay of what technology might have been had by the first settlers, save on Antares Nineteen, upon which a very little survived. Living conditions there have always been slightly more tolerable, but only recently did they redevelop interplanetary flight. Their higher technology allowed them a conquest, by trade and coercion as much as by conquest, and allowed their culture to impose itself upon the primarily nomadic tribes of the other planets.

Recently, the society has developed into a caste system. The bureaucrats of Antares Nineteen occupy the highest place, controlling the technology; among their number are included the scientists and mechanics who keep things running. Beneath them are the pilots, and with them, those use put the technology to use; except in extreme cases, it is forbidden for those of lesser castes to possess or train with ships, energy weapons, or anything that could conceivably be used to rebel. The final two castes are the elites of the natives and the peons. The elites are artists, performers, priests, and ceremonial figures propped up by the Ninets, who serve no true function in supporting the colonies now; the peons, by contrast, are the working class, the warriors, those who end up dead.

Now that the Antares colonies have grown well beyond their own means, the prevention of mass death is held off by two things: the exporting of slaves to other worlds, and the constant stream of bodies which is sent to Sephii, although, with Nineteen never having truly suppressed the tribal warfare on the others, many find their services as bodyguards or mercenaries worthwhile and take them away from the system. What little technology the Antares people receive, for most of their trade is returned as food, falls into the hands of the Ninets, who use it to enforce their dominion.

The Acheron rebellion

Main article: Acheron rebellion

Seven (standard) years ago, one of the elites upon the dwarf planet, closest of the habitable planets to the sun, managed to unite a large proportion of the indigenous population in revolt. While, doubtless, the Ninets could deal with it in force if so they wished, the wisdom of spending lives retaking what is primarily a barren chunk of rock is doubtful, and so, for the moment, it remains 'free', though it has suffered many deaths in the past due to starvation.

Links

• See also Antares, a star in the Scorpius constellation.

<graphviz border='frame' format='png' renderer='neato'>

digraph teraPhi {
 { rank=same;
 Sephii [URL="Sephii" fontcolor=blue];
 }
 { rank=same;
 Antares [URL="Antares" fontcolor =blue];
 Deneb [URL="Deneb" fontcolor =blue];
 Eridanus [URL="Eridanus" fontcolor =blue];
 Zashar [URL="Zash'ar" label="Zash'ar" fontcolor =blue];
 }
 { rank=same;
 NovOrion [URL="Nov'Orion" label="Nov'Orion" fontcolor =blue];
 }
 edge [len=2,dir=both];
 Sephii -> { Antares } -> NovOrion;
 Sephii -> { Zashar } -> NovOrion;
 Sephii -> { Eridanus } -> NovOrion;
 Sephii -> { Deneb } -> NovOrion;
 edge [len=2,dir=forward];
 Antares -> Zashar
   Deneb -> Eridanus
 ;
 { rank=same;
 Sephii ;
 }
 { rank=same;
 Antares ;
 Deneb ;
 Eridanus ;
 Zashar ;
 }
 { rank=same;
 NovOrion;
 }
}

</graphviz>