System Datafile:
System: Nethin
Star: Nethin (yellow)
Orbital Bodies:
Name
Planet Type
Moons
Jandin
barren terrestrial
2
Noqtin
temperate terrestrial 1
Fanjin
hot terrestrial
2
Dolduar
sparse asteroid belt -
Zanquin
frigid terrestrial
3
Hangin
gas giant
7
Capsule: The Nethin system, in Conheav sector, is home to a humanoid
race known as the Noqtuar. The Noqtuar have colonized
virtually every large body in the system, and though they have extensive
interplanetary travel, they have no knowledge of hyperspace. Due to a computer
error when the original survey of this system was filed hundreds of years
ago, all official records of the Nethin system state that it consists of
a red giant star with no planetary bodies. Roughly 20 years ago a scouting
expedition jointly funded by Moff Lesbeat and
Lobic Arms, an arms company based in the sector.
Lobic Arms, which specializes in developing new weaponry systems and then
subcontracting them to the manufacturing giants, was looking for a nearby
test site for new weapons. The Nethin system proved to be perfect.
The Noqtuar who inhabit the system have been engaged
in a bloody war for about 70 years. Some of the colonies have formed themselves
into the Free Noqtuar Alliance (FNA) in an attempt
to gain independance from Noqtin, while the rest of the system is controlled
by the Homeworld Preservation League (HPL). The war
efforts rely heavily on intelligence, long range sensors, and other such
methods. When a strike force is launched from Noqtin, for example, it will
take hours to reach Jandin, and such an event will often become a race
to see whose forces can arrive at the strike point first. Convoys are in
wide use among both sides, but especially with the FNA, and the routes
and schedules of these shipments are closely guarded secrets since both
sides engage in extensive commerce raiding. When the Lobic scouts discovered
this situation it was decided that the Nethin system would be a great place
to work out the bugs of new weapon systems in actual combat situations
while, because of the fact that the system is unknown to the galaxy at
large, maintaining secrecy regarding new weapons concepts. Lobic Arms has
been selling new weapons to both sides in the Nethin conflict ever since
they first made contact, sometimes sending observers along to record the
performance of these weapons. The Noqtuar pay for these weapons with valuable
metals and gems, a portion of which is given to Moff Lesbeat in order to
keep the Empire from getting involved. Lobic Arms payed a great deal to
have the Nethin system declared off limits to everyone but the Imperial
navy and Lobic Arms employees, and all astrogation charts to the system
have been destroyed, save for the closely guarded ones that the Lobic execs
and Moff Lesbeat own. Lesbeat and the executive commitee of Lobic Arms
both decided that the Noqtuar should not be allowed access to hyperdrive
technology. The FNA and the HPL both do their best to please the Lobic
representatives since both factions wish to convince Lobic Arms to sell
arms only to them. What most Noqtuar don't realise is that it is in Lobic's
best interests to keep the two factions at war and evenly matched. If the
war were to cool down Lobic Arms would lose a valuable testing ground as
well as a rich market for their wares. Some highly placed Noqtuar officials
in both the FNA and the HPL realise this, but niether side will mention
it as niether one wants to risk losing the support of Lobic.
There are many ways to get characters involved in
the Nethin system. Perhaps a rival arms company hires them to gain intelligence
on a new design by Lobic, or perhaps they are attempting to expose some
of Lesbeat's corrupt behavior and find some references to the Nethin system.
If the characters are in space and forced to make a blind hyperspace jump
they could arrive in the system by accident and discover the situation.
Another possibility is that the characters could be hired by Lobic to either
serve as crew on one of their vessels in the system, or to serve as observers.
In any case possibilities abound in this system for the characters to make
an enourmous difference in the lives of billions of sentients, since they
could possibly tip the balance either way in the war, or expose Lobic Arms
for the profit hungry opportunists that they are. It is even possible for
the characters to introduce the Noqtuar into the galactic community, and
possibly stop the war.
Type: terrestrial
Temperature: Hot
Atmosphere: Type IV (environment suit required)
Hydrosphere: Arid
Gravity: Standard
Terrain: Barren rock
Length of Day: 28 hrs
Length of Year: 49 local days
Sapient Species: Noqtuar
Starport: Standard
Population: 70 million
Planet Function: Colony
Government: Military
Tech Level: Information
Major Exports: refined metals and ores, processed alloys, manufactured
goods
Major Imports: foodstuffs
Capsule: Jandin is one of the most important planets in the FNA,
indeed it even serves as their military headquarters. All of the settlements
on Jandin are underground, except for starport domes, as the atmosphere
is virtually non-existant. What little agriculture exists on this planet
is in the form of hydroponics, and accounts for a mere 40% of the food
required by the population. For the rest of the food Jandin relies on convoys
from the third planet in the system, Fanjin. Due to the ongoing war in
the system, the regularity of these convoys cannot always be relied upon,
and because of this the entire planet has been working under a food rationing
system for close to 50 years. Jandin is rich in minerals of all types,
and is extensively mined. The minerals extracted are then processed in
the massive underground refineries and factories into all sorts of usable
goods, but primarily war materiels, which are then sent in convoy to all
parts of the Alliance.
There are 23 major underground cities with spaceports
on the planet, all of which are located near especially rich deposits of
minerals, and all of which are connected via a massive underground network
of railways. Space is always at a premium, no matter where on Jandin you
happen to be, as all usable space must be hollowed out of the rock. Most
residential and commercial areas of the cities are carved out of played-out
mining tunnels. One advantage to this arrangement is that it makes orbital
bombardments much more difficult, but if sufficient force is used to collapse
the tunnels the death toll can be in the hundreds of thousands. The Noqtuar
who live on Jandin have lived in these unbearable wartime conditions for
so long that they have grown used to them, and barely consider them a hardship
anymore. As a result Jandinians have a well-deserved reputation for being
incredibly hard- working and tenacious.
One of the 23 cities on the planet, Danar, suffered
an orbital bombardment of the spaceport, followed by a massive ground assault
some 3 years ago. Close to 900,000 HPL troops were landed, and after nearly
3 months of bitter tunnel fighting caused the FNA to evacuate the upper
levels. The fighting in Danar has been an ongoing affair ever since, with
neither side able to make much progress. The FNA still controls the massive
railway stations, and is able to get reinforcements and supplies through
them, while the HPL controls the starport, and is able to get reinforcements
from off-world. It is much more dangerous for the HPL to reinforce its
position than for the FNA, however, and it is likely that in the long run
the FNA will regain the devestated city.
Both of Jandin's moons have FNA naval bases and
shipyards on them, and are extremely well protected.
Type: Homeworld
Temperature: temperate
Atmosphere: type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: moderate
Gravity: standard
Terrain: ocean, forest, plains
Length of day: 23 hours
Length of year: 412 local days
Sapient species: Noqtuar (N)
Starport: standard
Population: 2 billion
Planet Function: homeworld
Government: military
Tech level: information
Major exports: manufactured goods, foodstuffs
Major imports: raw materials
Capsule: Noqtin is the homeworld of the Noqtuar species, and
was united under one government only a few years before colonization of
the other planets in the system began in earnest. Before that Noqtin was
home to many nations, and used to periodic warfare. For almost a century
all of the Noqtuar were united , untill the Jandinians decided that they
wanted their independance from a homeworld that cared little for it's colonies.
Military retribution was swift, but Fanjin and some of the mining colonies
in Dolduar voiced their support for Jandin. The war had begun. Soon Noqtin
controlled only Zanquin, 6 of the lunar colonies of Hangin, a number of
mining colonies in Dolduar, and the small northern continent of Fanjin.
Noqtin likes to think of itself as fully self-sufficient, unlike the backwards
colonies, and indeed it does come the closest of any of the planets in
the system to truly being self-sufficient, however it does require shipments
of raw materials from the colonies that it still controls to keep the mighty
manufacturing centres of the planet operating at full capacity. Noqtin
has by far the highest standard of living in the system, and natives like
to think of themselves as superior intellectually, as well as in almost
any other way that counts, to all of the colonists, including those that
support them. This arrogance is perhaps the main cause of the current conflict.
To this date the FNA has never managed to land any
invasion force on Noqtin, although they have managed to perform a few unsustained
orbital bombardments and bombing raids before being beaten back. A favorite
FNA tactic when attacking Noqtin has been to insert small teams of infiltrators
in the confusion of the raid in order to sabotage military and industrial
targets, as well as gather intelligence. HPL military headquarters is buried
deep beneath the capital city of Mysnar. The orbital shipyards are possibly
the most heavily defended installation in the system.
Type: terrestrial plains
Temperature: hot
Atmosphere: Type I (breathable)
Hydrosphere: moderate
Gravity: light
Terrain: plains
Length of day: 31 hours
Length of year: 311 local days
Sapient species: Noqtuar
Starport: standard
Population: 600 million (580 million FNA, 20 million HPL)
Planet function: colony
Government: military
Tech level: information
Major exports: foodstuffs
Major imports: manufactured goods
Capsule: The process of terraforming on Fanjin was begun over
a century before the major thrust of colonization by the Noqtuar, and as
a result, despite the heat, this is the most habitable colony in the system.
The majority of the planet is given over to the farming of detwyn, a crop
which was bred for the temperature and growing cycle of the planet. Most
of the planet is controlled by the FNA, the HPL holds a small, fortified
continent in the north which is usually all but cut off from the rest of
the League. The continent, Compthea, was heavily populated by relatively
recent colonists who were still very attached to the idea of the mighty
homeworld, and they did little to support the war untill they recently
declared their support for the HPL. Despite the fact that the FNA controls
orbital space around the planet, orbital bombardment has proved difficult
due to the 8 huge railguns that Compthea purchased from Lobic Arms which
are fully capable of shredding virtually any ship which ventures close
enough to fire upon the continent. This has not made the Comptheans immune
to bombing raids and surface warfare, however. Compthea recieves very little
support from Noqtin, but this will soon change since HPL high command has
decided that Compthea would provide the perfect beachhead from which to
conquer the breadbasket of Fanjin.
Due to the fact that Fanjin is the only planet which
is divided between the factions in any serious way, in recent years it
has seen more conventional ground warfare than any other body in the system.
The moons of Fanjin are home to some rudimentary shipyards which are truly
only suitable for repairs, and not ship construction. These shipyards serve
as muster points for the massive food and troop convoys which Fanjin regularly
sends to the other members of the Alliance.
Type: sparce asteroid belt
Temperature: frigid
Atmosphere: none
Hydrosphere: none
Gravity: low to none
Terrain: asteroids
Length of day: varies as per asteroid
Length of year: varies as per asteroid
Sapient species: Noqtuar, humans
Population: 7 million (4.5 million FNA, 2.5 million HPL); 5,000
(humans)
Planet function: mining
Government: military
Tech level: information
Major exports: ore
Major imports: foodstuffs, manufactured goods
Capsule: Virtually every large asteroid in the Dolduar is home
to a mining colony/military base. Several small shipyards are scattered
throughout the belt, most carefully hidden. At the beginning of the war
85% of the colonies in the Dolduar supported the FNA, but since then the
HPL has slowly but steadily captured more and more of the colonies. The
FNA miners have developed a reputation as the fiercest fighters in the
system, and in most cases fight to the last man to defend their colonies,
even when it is clear that they can't win, but they have been pushed back
by the constant well-equipped HPL reinforcements that arrive from Noqtin.
The HPL gets a large percentage of its ore from the Dolduar, while the
FNA can rely on Jandin, so the two military forces have different priorities
when it comes to the Battle of the Belt. Skirmishes in the Dolduar are
almost constant, with small packs of vessels often playing hide and seek
amongst the widely spaced asteroids. Minefields are common, and many of
the smaller asteroids are home to automated sensor arrays for both sides,
making any expeditions in the Dolduar risky at best.
The Dolduar is also home to the system's base of
operations for Lobic Arms. The corporation has taken over a played out
asteroid as the local headquarters and research facility. The space around
this asteroid, designated Alpha 1 by Lobic, has been declared a cease fire
zone, and both the HPL and the FNA send regular delegations to Alpha 1.
Despite the fact that neither faction seems likely to turn on Lobic Arms,
their base is protected by a fleet consisting of 1 heavily modified Bulk
Cruiser that has served as a testbed for many experimental weapon systems
in the past and retains the most powerful of these, 4 Corellian Gunships,
and 36 fighters, a mix of Gauntlets and Z-95 Headhunters. To the Noqtuar
this fleet is certainly impressive, considering that the Gunships are the
size of their medium battlecruisers, and the Bulk Cruiser dwarfs the largest
ship either faction has ever produced. Even so the asteroid itself is well
armed with all of the latest weaponry available, just in case. The hyperdrive
capable starships have been modified so that a special code known only
by the captain is required to activate the hyperdrive, and another code
known only by the chief engineer is required to gain acces to the hyperdrive
itself without causing the components of the drive to melt into slag. This
is a precaution to make sure that the Noqtuar never gain access to FTL
technology.
Type: Frigid terrestrial
Temperature: frigid
Atmosphere: Type III (breath mask required, thermal gear strongly
suggested)
Hydrosphere: moderate
Gravity: standard
Terrain: glacier
Length of day: 68 hours
Length of year: 212 local days
Sapient species: Noqtuar
Starport: standard
Population: 11 million
Planet function: colony
Government: military
Tech level: information
Major exports: pharmaceuticals, low-grade gems
Major imports: manufactured goods
Capsule: Zanquin is the only planet in the Nethin system other
than Noqtin to support native lifeforms. Zanquin has a wide variety of
flora and fauna adapted to its harsh conditions, although such life is
sparse. About 95% of the food required to support the population is grown
and hunted for on Zanquin itself, while the rest is brought from Noqtin
in convoys along with manufactured goods and war materiels. Most of the
population of the planet is concerned with ekeing out an existance, but
the Zanquinians do manage to make a contribution to the war effort for
the HPL in the way of low-grade gems which are mined on the planet, and
pharmaceuticals culled from local lifeforms.
The domed cities of the colony rarely come under
direct attack, but the FNA has been attempting to either sway one of the
cities to their side, or set up their own colony on the planet for years
in order to take advantage of the medicinal supplies available. So far
they have been unsuccessful, meaning that the HPL has a slight edge in
medical technology. Zanquin is not a terribly important staging area for
the HPL, but it maintains a sizable defense force nonetheless, for the
sole purpose of denying the planet's medicinal resources to the FNA. Zanquinians
have seen the least combat of any Noqtuar, and the conditions that they
live under today in wartime are not terribly different than they were before
the war started. Because of this the Zanquinians have a sort of detached
view of the war, almost as if it doesn't really exist, or at least as if
it wasn't really any of their affairs.
Hangin
Type: gas giant
Temperature: cool
Atmosphere: Type IV (environment suit required); none (moons)
Hydrosphere: arid
Gravity: heavy; light (moons)
Terrain: gas; barren rock (moons)
Length of day: 92 hours; varies (moons)
Length of year: 534 local days
Sapient species: Noqtuar (moons)
Starport: standard (moons)
Population: 4 million (moons, 3.5 million HPL; 500,000 FNA)
Government: Military
Tech level: information
Major exports: refined gases
Major imports: manufactured goods, foodstuffs
Capsule: Hangin is a gas giant which has 7 inhabited moons. The
moons, which are given number designations rather than names, are home
to massive gas refineries. Gases which have some use industrially are collected
from the upper layers of Hangin's atmosphere in specially designed ships
and transported to these facilities, where they are processed and purified
to be taken to Noqtin and Jandin, depending on whether the gases are collected
by HPL or FNA forces. 6 of the 7 moons are controlled by the HPL, while
the remaining colony, Hangin VI is loyal to the FNA. Most of the food required
by the colonists is grown on the colonies through hydroponics, but significant
food supplies must still be shipped to the moons.
Before the war broke out there were limited mining
operations on the moons themselves, but these have since been abandoned
and all colonists now either work on collecting and processing gases, or
serve in the military that protects the gas miners. All gas collection
expeditions are heavily escorted since Hangin is very much a disputed zone,
and neither side is above raiding the gas miners of the other. In proportion
to their population the FNA has a much heavier military presence around
Hangin than the HPL, since otherwise the single FNA colony would easily
be overwhelmed, and the Alliance would be cut off from their primary source
of industrial gases. Battles around Hangin are relatively frequent and
usually surround the collection of gas, or the arrival and departure of
convoys.