Takach Kingdom

This isn't a star mapping data sheet, although I do need to do four of them for the Takach Kingdom. Rather, I'm noodling around with exactly what the Takach Kingdom actually is. When I did the allied worlds, I didn't necessarily mean that they were in any kind of formal alliance, but maybe that they shared some kind of cultural or ethnic ties that might be expected to have some relevancy in the event of open conflict. Such was the case, I think, with my initial thoughts on the Takach Kingdom, which are four adjacent systems that came out as "light green"; i.e., allied with the Cilindareans. Keep in mind that the Cilindareans started off as my "Ad Astra Mandalorians" although they've evolved into being more explicitly space Vikings and space Spartans, even complete with Greek titles, like Anax for the kings within the Cilindarean Arm polity, and the presence of space helots and space mothakes.

I've also come up with the Janissaries, the freed descendants of people who were, under the very late Marian Empire, in a situation not unlike the historical Janissaries. Because I had proposed that the Janissaries were a separate ethnic group, related to, but now distinct because of that crucible of having served the Marians in a janissary state, I often assumed that most of the "light green" worlds on my map were actually Janissary worlds. But the reality is that this doesn't have to be true. The light green worlds could be allies of the Cilindareans for all kinds of other reasons too; it could be independent feudal Cilindarean lords, it could be worlds of helots or penestae, or they could be totally different peoples that for whatever reason gained the respect of the Cilindareans or their leaders, and therefore were in alliance with the Cilindareans without owing actual fealty or being actual provinces or what-have-you of the Cilindarean Arm.

Long ago when I first started this project, I wrote this about the Takach Kingdom:

One nation that has stood firm against Outremer (and anyone else's) expansion and either fought or intimidated everyone into leaving them alone, are the people of Takach.  Since their days in the Slave Wars, the descendants of the Janissaries have had a reputation as a highly efficient and effective military culture, related to the Cilindareans, but distinct.  The Takach are one of the very few truly hybrid cultures; intermarried Cilindareans and Janissaries who established a colony away from the Cilindarean Arm per se, where they could create their own society without the ethnic tension between the two groups.  Few of them have had more occasion to actually utilize their militancy in practice than the Takach in recent years, and they are showing that they are the equal to either tradition.  It's believed by some that the conquest and settlement of the Kingdom of Takach in the first place, which was highly publicized and romanticized by many, was the inspiration for Kar Tanus to go liberate Thanatos and build his small empire in the first place.  Having fought frequently against Imperials, Cilindareans, Reavers, Revanchists, and more, the Takach military is seen as one of the best small militaries in known space.

I don't think I want to change that, although as I do more "light green" in the future, I want to get away a bit from making them all Janissary-derived. What else do I want to do with the Takach people? When I wrote that, I hadn't yet conceived of the Takach Nebula, so-called because the Takach Kingdom is smack dab in the middle of it. I did notice, however, that it is surrounded by rivals on all fronts; reachable from no fewer than three Seraean colonies, Desai worlds, two different Bernese worlds, a Cilindarean world proper, a Republic colony, Reaver worlds, and trucculent independents like Oerken all within a jump or two distance, and all known for their either expansionist or raiding history.

That doesn't mean that open warfare with any of them has ever been part of Takach's history. Nobody really goes to open war against the Reavers, just like you can't go to open war against pirates or bandits, and the Persians and Greeks were never able to successfully prosecute open warfare against the Scythians. The Bernese are usually somewhat friendly, although not entirely so, of course, and they did conquer and settle a wide variety of worlds in generations past in this area, but not so long ago that the Takach wouldn't remember it. The Republic are, of course, passive-aggressive and untrustworthy, but open warfare isn't usually their syle either. And the Seraeans have usually deliberately avoided provoking open warfare with them; the Seraean conquerors and settlers are not representative or backed by the Imperial might overall, so they were on the lookout for softer targets in which to establish their new kingdoms and states.

Nevertheless, I've pointed out before that the whole region is a powderkeg waiting to blow; one filled with many would-be Gavrilo Princips, and many could-be Franz Ferdinands. I'm actually also going to decide that the founding of Temple comes from the Takach Kingdom. In fact, I'm going so far as to say that the leader of the Temple is first cousin to the king of Takach, the brother of the father of the current king being the one who left Takach and formed Temple. However, Temple is not a Takach endeavor, and many people of many ethnicities are accountable to Temple. However, the leader of Temple and the king of Takach have an understanding of some kind, and the king of Takach is one of the few outsiders who is aware of Temple's existance. But I do like the idea that maybe the Takach people have more invested in stability in peace in the region than anyone else, not being subject in any way to any larger state like the Empire, the Republic or the Monarchy, and they work to try and maintain it maybe just a bit harder than most.

1131 Pentase

System: Pentase
Hex Location: 1131
Star Type:  G7 V
Number of Worlds: 14
Gas Giants: 2
Planetoid Belt: None

Starport Type: A
World Size: Earth sized
Atmosphere Type: Earth like
Surface Water: 60%
Population: Large ~4 billion
Political Affiliation: Cilindarean Arm
Tags: Civil War, Eugenic Mania, Mining World
Notes: Pentase is one of the more "southerly" worlds of the Cilindarean Arm.  It is a beautiful, very Earth-like planet, with multiple ecosystems and a reasonably large population, made up mostly of ethnic Cilindareans.  It is also one of the few sources of pentase steel, a metal harder and yet less brittle than most, and highly valued by the Cilindareans, especially in the construction of their ships and armor and weapons.  It isn't the only source of this type of metal, but it is such an important source of it that the metal is named after the system.  Large deposits are found on the surface of the main planet, but they seem to be meteorite in origin, and asteroids and centaurs and other irregular bodies throughout the solar system, including some of the smaller rocky/metal worlds and their moons, are also good sources of the metal.  For this reason, the world is very important to the Anaxaster.  That said, it is not connected via Cilindarean controlled space lanes, and is somewhat geographically isolated from the rest of the polity.  This has made the political scenario somewhat tense for the neighbors of Pentase, because they know that the Cilindareans would greatly prefer to have unimpeded space lanes to Pentase, and have no problem conquering other planets and exterminating or banishing the population already there if they do not accept their military occupation, but for now, the Cilindareans have treaties with a number of systems that allow them space lane access, and the peace—if uneasy—still remains.

Pentase is also home to internal conflict rooted in the Cilindarean culture.  Ethnic Cilindareans are very socially stratified.  Only full citizens enjoy all of the perks of society, although they have lots of skin in the game and are expected to render a number of duties to the state in return.  The mothakes (singular mothax) are another level in society that, while free, does not qualify for full citizenship.  There is a great deal of envy among many mothakes for the status bestowed upon full citizens by right of birth, although curiously, there is a growing sense of envy among many citizens of the mothax for his freedom from certain responsibilities as well.  A very prominent, wealthy and popular mothax, Harmost Lysander, has rebelled against the citizen planetary governor in Pentase, sparking a civil war in the system that, while sometimes quiet, still lingers.  The anaxaster and the rest of the central government has resisted getting involved; while in theory, the planetary governor has the right of rule and Lysander is a traitor, it's a well-known fact that the planetary governor is both ineffective, petty and a tyrant.  The anaxaster has decided that whomever wins this conflict will be granted legitimacy, as long as the conflict doesn't spill out of the system, or affect the greater Cilindarean Arm overall.  This is a very Cilindarean attitude, where trial by combat is still considered a legitimate legal remedy for the settlement of disputes.

Part of this dispute is the eugenics mania among the citizens of Pentase.  Both genetic engineering and cybernetic augmentation are extremely popular among them, as is a obsessive-compulsive focus on heritage.  Lysander, and many of the rest of the Cilindareans, for that matter, see this as heretical or even abominatus.  Because of this, Lysander has been receiving covert aid from a number of Cilindarean factions who think he should be promoted to full citizen status, or at least given the planetary governorship even though he's only a mothax based on his obvious merit.  The Bernese colony of the Machesk Frontier, which borders the Pentase system, is also not so subtly in favor of his rise at the expense of the current governor, Alcibiades.  This is one of the few times in which the nearby Revanchist colony of the Calder Settlements sees eye to eye with their Bernese rivals.  However, the nearby Seraeans from Outremer are backing Alcibiades, and with less discretion than the others.  This is threatening to become a full-blown diplomatic incident between the Cilindareans ad the three Great Powers if it continues unabated much longer.

Cilindare

Following its ravaging during the Slave Wars centuries ago, Cilindare has been on a slow path to restoration via carefully controlled cultural renewal and aggressive terraforming projects.  The enclosed, industrial cities of Cilindare have continued to grow. The ruined ecology of the planet, and the bare, sterile areas like the Sundered Wastes, continue to dominate the surface of the planet and the atmosphere remains difficult, but slowly... ever so slowly... the terraforming is having an effect and the planet is making a comeback. Plants, imported from nearby forest moons, have started to grow, first as carefully tended private gardens, and finally growing into self-sustaining preserves.  The last vestiges of any relics of the failed regimes of the past, are finally being swept away, although much too slowly for the likes of its rulers. 

Entrance to the enclosed cities on Cilindare

Cilindare today is the capital of Cilindarean society, but no longer its single locus. As the power and influence of the Cilindareans grew, so too has the area which they claim. Colonists, encouraged by cultural and government induced incentives, have spread rapidly, procreated wildly, and Cilindarean culture is now "native" to dozens of nearby systems. Many other systems have sworn vassalage to the Cilindareans, and collectively this entire area is known as the Cilindarean Arm of the galaxy. The vassal states are not truly considered Cilindarean themselves, at least not by ethnic Cilindareans, who are very particular about their cultural and ethnic purity. Although there have been some conversions and acceptance of non-Cilindareans into Cilindarean culture and mixed race marriages, by and large the original Cilindarean ethnic group remains as it was during the Slave Wars. Quasi-religious cultural traditionalism has enforced an extraordinary level of cultural stability into the Cilindarean way of life in a way not unlike that of the Ashkenazi Jew. 

Many of the Cilindarean vassals or clients have taken to imitating many aspects of Cilindarean culture, including developing their own traditions of battle-suits and mercenary military service. These clients are careful not to copy the Cilindarean template too closely, as the Cilindareans are very zealous about the uniqueness of their battle-armor and see it as one of their most revered cultural traditions, and dislike too open imitation as disrespectful and gauche. 

A curious fact is that the descendants of many of the slaves that fought in the Slave Wars as Janissaries or otherwise, decommissioned after the Secessionists were defeated at Cephei IV have made their way to this area. Although not per se part of Cilindarean society, they see somehow a connection, as many of their ancestors from ancient times were ethnically related to the Cilindareans. The relationship between the ethnic Cilindareans and the ethnic Janissary descendants is somewhat strained on occasion, yet remains an interesting dynamic, as they number at least as many as the Cilindareans themselves in Cilindarean territory, and have their own traditions of martial excellence. While outside of Cilindarean society proper, they still retain a somewhat favored position as a largely pluralistic segment of society that cannot be ignored, and who have, by tradition, maintained a military cohesiveness that rivals that of the Cilindareans themselves.

System: Cilindare
Hex Location: 0818
Star Type: Single star, A9 V
Number of Worlds: 7
Gas Giants: 2
Planetoid Belt: Asteroid and comet belt

Starport Type: A
World Size: Earth-sized
Atmosphere Type: Thin
Surface Water: 10%, and much of it is frozen.
Population: Medium (600 million)
Political Affiliation: Cilindarean Arm
Notes: The homeworld of the Cilindareans, this planet has vital moral significance to them.  Foolish regimes of the past have, at turns, 1) embarked on foreign adventurism of dubious value that spent the military might of Cilindare, and 2) pursued naive pacifism and refusal to fight, even to defend themselves from open attack, as a reaction to the overt militarization of the past.  The end result of this was the ruination of Cilindare due to massive, planet-busting weaponry that literally turned much of its surface to glass (which is now ground down to fine, sandy powder in vast plains.)  Volcanic upheaval was a result of this planet-wide holocaust as well, so new mountain ranges leapt upward to pierce the sky with ragged, jagged peaks.  The Cilindareans themselves underwent a diaspora to nearby worlds, where they gradually rediscovered their military culture, but insist on a wiser use of it.  And, they've recently started trying to terraform their original homeworld back into habitability, although they are still confined largely to domed cities with controlled atmospheres.

Inside the domed cities of Cilindare

The Cilindareans are best viewed as something like the ancient Spartans translated into space with just a touch of the Varangians to them as well.  Their life is purposefully harsh and militaristic, crafting them into the perfect warriors and soldiers.  The expansion of their collective has been measured and deliberate.  And the soldiers gain useful experience, as well as vital riches, serving as mercenaries, bodyguards, bounty hunters, and more across much of known space.  The Bern kings in particular have long made use of the Cilindari corpore custodes, a kind of Varangian guard of Cilindareans, as one of its most trusted elite units, and traditional rival to the psionic Praetors.

The classic Cilindarean battle suit can probably best be short-hand described as a more lightly armored Warmachine (from the Iron Man movies) but with a face-mask that's more like that of the Winter Soldier or Star-Lord.  The Cilindareans themselves are extraordinarily Nordic in their physical appearance; blond and ruddy hair predominate, as do gray, blue and green eyes and white, often freckled skin.

This isn't completely true today, especially as the Cilindareans have spread through more of the galaxy and at least somewhat intermarried with others.  The descendants of the old Janissary corps, which make up a large plurality within their polity, have dark hair with pale skin and gray or blue eyes.  There have been a fair number of intermarriages between these two populations, although it's fair to say that the relationship between the former slaves and the "pure" Cilindareans is complicated.  There's a fair bit of mutual respect, but also rivalry.  Both practice similar martial traditions, including a variation on the agoge as part of male child raising, and these former slaves, still calling themselves Janissaries, have started to spread throughout the galaxy as mercenaries not unlike the Cilindareans before them.

Yuggoth

As a major battlefield of the Last Emperors wars, dark and frozen Yuggoth gained a bit of notoriety many centuries ago, and it's now no longer a world that is greeted with a blank stare or a shrug when mentioned.  That doesn't mean that much in the way of valuable resources have been found here. Yuggoth has a few small communities, that mostly cater to smugglers or other ne'er-do-wells.  But a few hardy gas miners have discovered that chemical reactions deep under the ice have produced stores of sytor gas which can be refined to high quality fuel for bulk drives. There isn't exactly a sytor rush on the planet, but a few solitary, independent types manage to eke out a reasonably comfortable living on Yuggoth even so. 

And occasionally rumors will float about that some independent knight has discovered relics of the Order of the Zen Cross here, which is rumored to have once been a major temple site for their ancient mystery cult. This has never been officially confirmed; if any knights are finding relics, they're keeping that find close. But knights—especially Sacristans—do occasionally arrive here to scout out the planet, and occasionally come into conflict with each other. The locals often look at the arrival of a knight as if it were the arrival of a potentially dangerous and notorious gunfighter in an Old West town. They are respectful, but try to encourage them to move on as much as possible. and prefer to keep them from coming into conflict with each other as much as possible too.

System: Yuggoth
Hex Location: 0714
Star Type: Single star, F8
Number of Worlds: 9
Gas Giants: 2 (1 Hot Jupiter)
Planetoid Belt: Asteroid and comet belt

Starport Type: C
World Size: Earth-sized
Atmosphere Type: Earth-like
Surface Water: 90%, but almost all of it is frozen.
Population: Medium (80 million)
Political Affiliation: Claimed by Cilindare
Notes: Yuggoth has never had significant settlement, but the sytor gas mines (think of it as a kind of nitrous oxide for spaceships) were seen as worth harvesting by some, so the Cilindareans, as they expanded into this sector, claimed the world.  It is also not insignificant as a waystation in crossing the sector; its position gives it decent access to other worlds that would otherwise require a long trip around.

A small landing pad deep in a mountainous region of Yuggoth

Much of the traffic comes from treasure hunters, archaeologists, mystics and pilgrims searching for ruins or artifacts; everything from a lost Zen Crucian temple, to information that will shed light on the mysterious Last Emperor's War and more.

There are no native sentient species, but some dangerous wildlife makes travel here difficult.  Also, Yuggoth occupies the same orbital space as a dispersed asteroid belt, which is theorized to have once been a moon of Yuggoth which shattered and scattered throughout the orbit.  This also makes life here potentially very difficult, as meteorite falls are quite common, and the risk of an extinction level asteroid collision is always present.

None of the settlements are particularly large.  The Cilindan officials only tend to manage a few of them, which are industrial mining towns.  There are a few other settlements, but they are generally little more than either smuggler hide-outs or "rest stops" for passing caravans or ships on their way from some system elsewhere to some other system elsewhere and using Yuggoth as a shortcut.