 October 9, 2014 - 6:03am | I start these threads to elicit ideas, content, submissions and feedback in part of the magazines but also in part because the collaborative process makes stuff better. I'd like to explore the 2nd Common Muster which is in essence SW1. Fiction, adventures, plot hooks, campaign overview, KH encounters, technical articles (how to handle sathar hypnotism, prospective equipment list for the era, etc) I think it could turn into a themed issue for the magazines but of course it will need content and feed back. What would you like to see in terms of a 2nd Common Muster theme in the fan zines? Fiction wise I think a short story exploring the sathar hypnotism from the perspective of a victim with a surprise/ twist ending would be cool. Adventure wise: I'd be interested in a small ship brought into the muster (not an assault scout) and experiencing some pieces of the war we have not seen possibly action on Laco or Pale or New Pale. mix of KHs and AD action for this designed as episodic encounters like WoWL module. Benefit is that the crew ie the PCs are not from a military organization and thus they dont have to act like it but they also get some straight forward action encoutners. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 October 12, 2014 - 5:38am | Oh I agree the explanation of this war would take a lot of detail. One thing which is never explained is how Morgaine new there was a second Sathar Fleet going to hit Cassidine and took every one there OR how the Sathar fleet got to Cassidine for the first battle and then back to Laco. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 October 12, 2014 - 5:51am | ... 2> Retrofit the supply of civilians ships for immediate service thereby tipping the scale back to the Muster. 3> Begin building new warships that will take 150 days for the smallest capital ships' first launch. I agree with Shadow. A freighter with a couple of laser batteries is better than nothing + it would explains some of the casualties. Liberty ships were made in...10 - 14 days. Granted these were cargo ships, BUT could not the SCCs working around the clock save time? I mean is for the Frontier - us or the snakes, etc. |
 October 12, 2014 - 9:29pm | One thing which is never explained is how Morgaine new there was a second Sathar Fleet going to hit Cassidine and took every one there OR how the Sathar fleet got to Cassidine for the first battle and then back to Laco.
The way I read it, it's the same sathar fleet rather than a second fleet. Since AD establishes Truane's Star as the only route through the Xagyg Dust Nebula, any travel going to Cassidine from TS (or vice versa) would first have to pass through Dixon's Star. DS to Cassidine isn't an established route, but it could be plotted. However, the tendril of the nebula would prevent a direct jump from Truane to Cassidine. Granted, according to the map in Zeb's Guide, the jump from Zebulon to Capella is possible by making a maneuver adjustment in mid-jump...you know, that brief period of a few seconds while you're in the void and your senses are distorted, a crew can be coherent enough to make that direction change and avoid those tendrils of the nebula...so maybe the sathar did the same thing from TS to Cassidine. Excuse me while I get something out of my system again... (you ought to be familiar with that emoticon already) Two jumps would be more realistic. In the case of the Zebulon to Capella jump: a 3LY hop past the tendril into empty space followed by the 7LY leg to Capella itself. In that sense, I could see the sathar making a TS to Cassidine jump...in two legs, one to empty space and the second to Cassidine. |
October 12, 2014 - 10:05pm | A freighter with a couple of laser batteries is better than nothing + it would explains some of the casualties.
Liberty ships were made in...10 - 14 days. Granted these were cargo ships, BUT could not the SCCs working around the clock save time? I mean is for the Frontier - us or the snakes, etc. I could see certain governments "appropriating" vessels during emergency situations like an alien invasion etc. As I mentioned earlier, Streel (and Pan Galactic, or any other mega-corp for that matter) would recall all of their assets and upgrade them to press into service. They didn't evolve into mega-credit earning businesses by being weak, they'll do what they must to protect their interests. It goes without saying the mega-corps have the majority of civilian ships roaming the space lanes, and I would daresay they have more civie craft than the total warships plying those same lanes as well. The bigger corps no doubt have military contracts --- or at the minimum a few para-military contracts --- and would rush in with production, again defending their own interests if nothing else. I could see them launching squadrons of star fighters 30 days after the first sighting, with heavy fighters and gunned scouts not too far behind at 30 more days each per class. If you go by that time line Rat provided, those fighters would be ready before the Muster was even formed. In other words, by the time the Muster is formed and placing their first order for manufactured warships, the mega-corps already have fighters ready to engage the enemy. Heavy fighters and any HS:2 gunned civilian craft would be pressed into service 8 days prior to the Cassidine battle. Gunned scout ships (HS:3) would be ready a couple days prior to the Laco hit. However no corvettes (HS:4 etc) or frigates would be ready in time for use according to that 106 day time span, but they'd be nearing completion just in case the worm retreat was a feint. But the point is clear...if you go by that time frame not a single new captial ship would have been ready for combat and the entire war would have hinged on the few existing warships from the prior pirate war (again, which would not be a match for the overwhelming sathar fleet). The need for converted civilian ships is the only way that war could be balanced within that time line. |
 October 12, 2014 - 11:44pm | The question is how did they get a working design in 150 days (6 mos.) for any ship, let alone a fleet of various designs? The answer is that the designs were already on the table. So now the question is why, if there was no anticipation of the battle? Or was there? Though, assuming they did not have information of an impending attack, the reason being was that they wanted to save money in combating pirates and corporate wars. With a better armed craft, they could pay less in fuel, manpower and raw materials and might even intimidate some into backing down without a fight. At the end of the day, its the one with the better toys and the bigger gun who usually wins. However, in this scenario, they are not aware of an impending attack and therefore, when it hits, they are still caught with their pants down. But with major tech already on the table, all they needed to do was mass produce. Thus, they likely had, at the very least, prototypes in service, templates for the muster. Here's the deal. They had not irradicated piracy. The fact is, pirates adapt just like nations do. If the law gets more help, the pirates have to get more help. The help may be syndicating or simply stealing better tech. In turn, the law responds by getting a larger budget and flexing its muscles more. This escalation was likely in play at the time the Sathar arrived. Perhaps they were trying to irradicate the Star Devil once and for all with big budget and ambitious designs. But then in steps the Sathar. Poor worms had no idea that the Star Devil had already stirred up the hornet's nest. Look what happened on Volturnus. The characters fight the Star Devil and end up making friends that serendipitously help them defeat the Sathar, because the making friends part was already out of the way. That and the fact that the races were bioengineered to fight the Sathar, and a stack of Truane's Starships wera already there. The tech the Sathar left behind to detect tech developed by the Eorna led the Sathar fleet straight into a s--tstorm. Bad timing for the worms. Sounds like the Sathar's tune. Sathar bring their .45 out of their pants and give a look as if to say, "Check this out." The Frontier pulls a bigger gun out of its wasteband and gives a look that says, "That's not a gun. This is a gun." (Courtesy the movie "City Heat", 1984.) The question now is, what happened to the dud ship designss and what effect might they have had on any battles they were in? What is the untold story? When you have to play with unperfected toys, some are going to break. View my profile for a list of articles I have written, am writing, will write. "It's yo' mama!" —Wicket W. Warrick, Star Wars Ep. VI: Return of the Jedi "That guy's wise." —Logray, Star Wars Ep.VI: Return of the Jedi Do You Wanna Date My Avatar? - Felicia Day (The Guild) |
October 13, 2014 - 2:20am | As they learned things about aircraft in WW1 the ammount of time between having a plane on the drawing board and it rolling off a production line shrank to as little as 28 days. Granted, we are talking about things made out of lumber, canvas and dope with an engine and some other metal fittings but it was still state of the art at the time. The pressure to come up with technological edges over the enemy or to counter a technological edge that the enemy had leaped frogged aviation technology decades. If masking screens had not be deployed priot to the 2nd common muster there were some on the drawing boards and the sathar turning up with laser armed ships caused them to be rushed into the lastest hulls. I dont think the core four were all Kum By Ya and lets hug a dralasite, there certainly were military designs and militia ships floating around. the militia ships were undoubtably the back bone of the muster. Still, the fact that vrusk, humans and dralasites had met and established a colony named Triad in the spirit of peaceful cooporation and latter the same thing happened again on Gran Quivera when the yazirians turned up made leftist liberals question all the harder, "Why do we have to spend so much money on weapons when we can all just get along?" Humans and Yazirians told variations on a story about sheep and wolves co-existing; one inside the other but still there wasn't a real threat though some suggested the yazirians as a threat. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
October 13, 2014 - 7:14am | OK couple quick points One Liberty ships were completed quickly the fastest taking 4days 15 1/2 hours to finish BUT that was only after a couple years of building them and training thousands of men and allowing them to gain the experience to do it. The first Liberty ships took 230 days to complete. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_ship Two as mentioned above and a key point of ALL RPGs is skills. Just because you have lots of ships doesn't mean you have the beings to man them. Especially if you go by the Knight Hawks rules for space skills there just would not be that many beings with the necessary gunnery or piloting skills to man the mass influx of ships. Three Morgaine was an Admiral. He may not have been one before the Sathar War but he obviously had some experience in large fleet manuevers. He must have gotten them somewhere which means there was some things other then the 1st Common Muster. Think of the American Civil War. Most of the senior officers had some experience from the Mexican-American War. Which could translate to the the 1st Common Muster. But what was he doing during the intervining years? Four By either timeline PGC was the only megacorp around at that time. Streel came about later. How many warships and crews they had is open to debate but they probably provided the logisitical support and the planetary navies the warships. Five Even if the Sathar only had one fleet how did Morgaine know is was going to Cassidine? The Frontier didn't have an established jump route between Pale and Cassidine. How did he know they were going to be there? Thinking a good spy story is needed here. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
October 13, 2014 - 10:49am | Perhaps they were trying to irradicate the Star Devil once and for all with big budget and ambitious designs. But then in steps the Sathar. Poor worms had no idea that the Star Devil had already stirred up the hornet's nest. Look what happened on Volturnus. The characters fight the Star Devil and end up making friends that serendipitously help them defeat the Sathar, because the making friends part was already out of the way. That and the fact that the races were bioengineered to fight the Sathar, and a stack of Truane's Starships wera already there. Good analogy, but as written the Volturnus adventure was a post SW1 event. Players are already somewhat familiar with the Sathar going into that scenario. Volturnus was not the first appearance of the Sathar in the Frontier. However, the established history of Volturnus and the Sathar could easily predate the first sathar war. Nonetheless it's a huge glitch in the Zeb time line. And again, pirates favor small fast craft. Frigates and destroyers would be the mainstay of early Frontier defense for such a threat, and a light cruiser or two may have been commissioned somewhere along the way. KH mentions the heavy cruiser was the original battleship, so I would say one at most was available...the one Admiral Morgaine took control of. But those big ships would be very few and far between. Look at modern Frontier militia fleets for an idea as to what the divided systems would rely on for defense, and then keep in mind even in modern times those militia ships are few and far between considering how many words are completely undefended in time for the second sathar war. If a prepared Frontier (meaning they are already aware of the Sathar) is horribly under-defended, what does that say of an unprepared Frontier? |
October 13, 2014 - 11:18am | Two as mentioned above and a key point of ALL RPGs is skills. Just because you have lots of ships doesn't mean you have the beings to man them. Especially if you go by the Knight Hawks rules for space skills there just would not be that many beings with the necessary gunnery or piloting skills to man the mass influx of ships. This also supports my minimalist big ships theory. Again leading to the ideal that frigates and destroyers will still be the mainstay. Zeb's time line shows the first muster/pirate war lasting three years, which is actually more realistic than their portrayal of an overwhelming Sathar presence only lasting two. Still, small/fast ships arethe mainstay for either side. If there were any cruiser class warships back then, the light cruiser would have been that era's battleship...and itssafe to say Admiral-Morgaine-to-be cut his teeth during this era. Four By either timeline PGC was the only megacorp around at that time. Streel came about later. How many warships and crews they had is open to debate but they probably provided the logisitical support and the planetary navies the warships. I've never seen an official AD/KH time line, but if we are to use Zeb's as a yardstick for this --- Streel and CDC pop up 2 and 8 years after the UPF respectively. A mega-corp doesn't just pop up overnight...they were around in one way/shape/form or another prior to the first sathar war. For example, in my Historic Adventure setting Streel is "Streel, Inc." by pf100. Not a mega-corp but an established businuss nonetheless. PGC is also in that setting, albeit not a mega-corp yet either. Big businesses start off as small businesses, and they grow into big businesses later. Five Even if the Sathar only had one fleet how did Morgaine know is was going to Cassidine? The Frontier didn't have an established jump route between Pale and Cassidine. How did he know they were going to be there? Thinking a good spy story is needed here. My guess is the grand exodus had something to do with this. Perhaps those fleets of surviving ships (insert the emoticon that gets something out of my system again) were able to report the direction of travel that the retreating sathar fleet was headed in. The worms later blast Laco as revenge, both for allowing them to escape from TS and for ratting out their position. |
October 13, 2014 - 12:50pm | Morgaine commanded the First Common Muster and Hatzk Naar slipped past him to raid Timeon/Lossend. He was determined to not let this happen with the sathar as that would mean letting them trash a badly needed ship yard. He had numbers and sizes of hulls of the sathar fleet at Truanes Star and at the very least pickets posted at Dixon's Star. Clearly he made a cold blooded decision to not contest the sathar at Dixon's star since it was a light population colony with a marginal economy at the time and attemped to cover both Prengular and Cassidine. The only explanation for his intercept of the sathar fleet in Cassidine is that he was using the pickets at Dixon's to alert him of the sathar fleet moving that way while being prepositioned at Cassidine with jump calculations already locked in for Prengular. With the pickets only reporting half the sathar fleet arriving at Dixon's star he had to wonder where the rest were. They could have remained at Truane's Star or be headed elsewhere? Either he guessed and was lucky about Cassidine or he had a scout in the outer reaches of Truane's Star reporting in via subspace. It was essential that he protect both Prengular and Cassidine as these were the symbols of interspecies cooporation and important economies. In addition Cassidine guards the route to Fromeltar which has a signigicant militia controlling the Fromeltar and Kisk'Kar militia hulls. If the sathar took Cassidine he could face some dissention in the ranks if the Fromeltar militia felt their home system was threatened. Fromeltar is also an important system and by defending Cassidine it is by default protected. My guess is that he had a mandate to prevent the sathar from smashing any vital systems (perhaps a delegate that voted for the 2nd Common Muster but against Morgaine taking command probably got a dig in with a comment that he should see if he could prevent the enemy from getting by him like what happened during the First Common Muster. There was no hope of this delegate's choice for command being chosen but he's ready to move against Morgaine when the sathar do get past him. Morgaine understands the politics of the situation and is simply taking precautions against failure with scout ships out as pickets in Dixon's and Truane's star. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
October 14, 2014 - 3:55am | I was just looking at artwork of a sci fi space superiority fighter in a service bay and it struck me: what is the MHS for a rocket battery load out mounted externally and only forward fire? I want to say MHS 1 so that it can fitted to a KHs fighter. perhaps with the extra rule that if the fighter takes any damage there is a chance that this external ordinance is destroyed irregardless of what the damage is. The chance is 10% X the hp in damage. If damage is 5 hp then the chance of destroying the external ordinance is 50%. If using the advanced damage table and its things like an ADF or MR hit then roll the dice of damage as if it were for hp and compute the chance for external ordinance destruction. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
October 14, 2014 - 6:01am | I thought it was HS 5... A rocket battery array is HS 5 but what if you dispensed with the array and just mount the rockets externally like one a jet or helicopter? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
October 14, 2014 - 8:35am | Yep, that's essentially what the pod laser is: the guns sans battery affixed to a HS:1 hull. The fighter essentially becomes the "battery" for the guns (or in the case of the FFR, the rocket launchers). |
October 14, 2014 - 9:30am | A rocket battery array is HS 5 but what if you dispensed with the array and just mount the rockets externally like one a jet or helicopter?
Think way back to the old TV series UFO and the Moon based interceptors. The ones with the really big one shot rockets on the nose. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
October 14, 2014 - 7:10pm | OK, what is the difference between that rocket and the assault rocket? |
October 15, 2014 - 12:34am | OK, what is the difference between that rocket and the assault rocket?
8 small rockets that inflict 2d10 at a slightly shorter range than one big rocket that inflicts 2d10+4. The main difference being the fixed forward firing RB array is proposed as a precursor system to the assault rocket. |
 August 18, 2016 - 7:42am | T If you really want to go by Zeb's Guide. I find it laughable that a disorganized coalition can achieve victory in a two year surprise war when the organized effort that was already prepared takes ten years in the second war. ... If there were enough ships for an exodus, at the hands of the "merciful" Sathar who so swiftly annihilated that system, it sounds to me like a draw at best. I honestly have a tough time engaging in any SF discussion that doesn't uncover flaws in that extremely huge vat of diarrhetic dragon dung that is Zeb's Guide. Lorraine Williams at her finest. Ya know, she kind of resembles the huge vat and we all know what she was full of... Good point Joe Cabadas |
August 19, 2016 - 5:28pm | Ahhh...waxing nostalgia again. I love these older threads, even the newer older ones.  Going through it again I got a chuckle at one of the bits. Sathar bring their .45 out of their pants and give a look as if to say, "Check this out." The Frontier pulls a bigger gun out of its wasteband and gives a look that says, "That's not a gun. This is a gun." (Courtesy the movie "City Heat", 1984.) I'm sure parallel quotes were made in numerous other references both before and after that flick, but one that came immediately to mind was from a couple years later a la Crocodile Dundee --- street thug pulls a knife and Dundee pulls the bigger one proclaiming "That's not a knoyfe, THIS is a knoyfe." More 80s nostalgia. ;) |
 August 20, 2016 - 1:13am | ^ I like the scene in the sequel when the thug asks Dundee what he thinks his chances are of walking away safely from thier ambush and Mic snap throws the knife which pins one of the thugs to a pillar via his hair. Mic then shrugs and says "Better than average..." |
August 21, 2016 - 9:36am | Ahhh...waxing nostalgia again. I love these older threads, even the newer older ones. Going through it again I got a chuckle at one of the bits. Sathar bring their .45 out of their pants and give a look as if to say, "Check this out." The Frontier pulls a bigger gun out of its wasteband and gives a look that says, "That's not a gun. This is a gun." (Courtesy the movie "City Heat", 1984.) I'm sure parallel quotes were made in numerous other references both before and after that flick, but one that came immediately to mind was from a couple years later a la Crocodile Dundee --- street thug pulls a knife and Dundee pulls the bigger one proclaiming "That's not a knoyfe, THIS is a knoyfe." More 80s nostalgia. ;) Since I'm still fairly new, these older discussions are "new" to me, especially when I'm researching a topic. Cheers. Joe Cabadas |
August 21, 2016 - 4:13pm | It's always refreshing for a new look at an old thread, especially when some input can be had on the subject. Keep on keeping on! |
August 23, 2016 - 11:54am | It's always refreshing for a new look at an old thread, especially when some input can be had on the subject. Keep on keeping on! I think there might be some fresh ideas that I might be able to offer on this subject. Jedion's original idea seems to have been trying to flesh out the Second Common Muster and its history -- much like if someone was going to write about World War I's highlights, but then one got into a big discussion about the merits and capabilities of the Sopwith Camel. I'll try to come up with a few scenarios. Joe Cabadas |
August 23, 2016 - 7:51pm | but then one got into a big discussion about the merits and capabilities of the Sopwith Camel.
Feh, anyone familiar with the dailies knows that the Red Baron's Fokker DR-1 never had a problem shooting down Snoopy's Sopwith Camel.  |
August 24, 2016 - 3:22am | The ships involved in the 2nd Common Muster would be interesting for two points. They did not have Battleships according to KH. The Battleship at least by stats is a recent development and Heavy Cruisers were the biggest they had then although they might have been called Battleships. Same for the Assault Scouts since they are also a more recent type. Converted and upgraded civilian vessels probably a large portion of the fleet. Since the UPF or Spacefleet has not been formed there is little chance the ships had interracial crews. Besides naming any ships accordingly we should also consider the type of ships to be like the Core Four races in their attitudes. My suggestion: Human have the second most number of ships but have larger ships. Especially since Morgan and his command ship were the biggest. Yazirians have the most ships but mostly Frigates and Destroyer typs and crewed by those from the same planet and mostly the same Clan Vrusk ships would be Trade House speicific and more of the converted civilian ships and support ships. Third largest group of warships but the largest group of support ships Dralasite have fewest ships being the least numerous in terms of planets occupied so fewer ships available. However they would be the most dedicated having debated the issue and fully committed to the plan. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
August 24, 2016 - 5:50am | The ships involved in the 2nd Common Muster would be interesting for two points. They did not have Battleships according to KH. The Battleship at least by stats is a recent development and Heavy Cruisers were the biggest they had then although they might have been called Battleships. Same for the Assault Scouts since they are also a more recent type. Converted and upgraded civilian vessels probably a large portion of the fleet. Since the UPF or Spacefleet has not been formed there is little chance the ships had interracial crews. Besides naming any ships accordingly we should also consider the type of ships to be like the Core Four races in their attitudes. My suggestion: Human have the second most number of ships but have larger ships. Especially since Morgan and his command ship were the biggest. Yazirians have the most ships but mostly Frigates and Destroyer typs and crewed by those from the same planet and mostly the same Clan Vrusk ships would be Trade House speicific and more of the converted civilian ships and support ships. Third largest group of warships but the largest group of support ships Dralasite have fewest ships being the least numerous in terms of planets occupied so fewer ships available. However they would be the most dedicated having debated the issue and fully committed to the plan. I think the Pan-Galactic Corporation would also be heavily involved in the effort. If we use the non-Zebs timeline, the Rim Coalition would not be involved in any way, shape or form in the Second Common Muster/First Sathar War. That means no Capellan Free Merchants coming to the aid of any Truane's Star refugees who made it to Laco at Dixon's Star. Instead of the CFM helping them out, it would probably be the PGC and maybe the predecessor to the Cassidine Development Corporation. Rattraveller has some very good points. Heavy cruisers are the battleships of this era. Knight Hawks pretty much says that. There might be scouts and fighters, but no assault scouts. The weapons and defenses should be a bit more primative. Maybe a few less hull points per ship class and a little slower. Planetary defenses are probably more primative... KH really lacks any proper planetary assault rules, but that's beside the point. Joe Cabadas |
August 24, 2016 - 5:56am | Now, as for a specific event or thing during the First Sathar War, let me plagerize myself -- I really don't understand that term -- and look at the system brief I created for Pan-Gal. Here's an idea... The first mega-corporation controlled system in the Frontier, Pan-Gal lies on a star route between Timeon and Gruna Garu. ... The star route from Timeon to Pan-Gal was charted successfully in 38 PF (Yeah, that doesn't match the Zeb's timeline but so what). ... Lloomaa sold the route to the Pan-Galactic Corporation for an undisclosed sum... Early on, the PGC board of directors decided that it wanted to develop the system for itself. Its route was never logged with the early Free Trade Federation (FTF) – the quasi-governmental body that existed on Gran Quivera (Prenglar) before the founding of the United Planetary Federation. The early FTF had no law enforcement or military powers but existed to aid the Humans, Yazarians, Vrusk and Dralasites negotiate trade and diplomatic agreements. As trade increased with the Yazarian Arm of the Frontier, the PGC had the Zebulon cousins plot a route from Pan-Gal to Gruna Garu and back in 21 PF. For years, the corporation kept the star routes to and from the Pan-Gal System as a closely guarded secret and stationed privateers to watch for intruders. Whenever a Yazarian “scout” or a Human vessel “misjumped” into the system, Pan-Gal security forces intercepted them and “helped” them return home – minus any navigational data. Whenever priority shipments had to go from Timeon to Gruna Garu or back, special PGC courier vessels would “high ball” it through the Pan-Gal System, avoiding the longer route through Prenglar. By the time of the First Sathar War, the star routes to and from the Pan-Gal system became known as the “worst kept secret” in the Frontier. Admiral Vincent Morgaine used the route to help coordinate Yazarian strike ships against the Sathar. However, it wasn’t until 30 FY when the PGC officially registered the system and its planets with the Frontier Office of Survey and Statistics and other UPF agencies... Please see http://starfrontiers.us/node/9256 for more information.Joe Cabadas |
August 24, 2016 - 6:00am | Now I'll offer something from my brief on the Devco system and the planet Cass: In 3 PF, famed explorer Alorne Zebulon, who had finally separated himself from the Pan-Galactic Corporation, and became an independent operative, plotted a star route from Dramune the star system F9C4572 and verified that it had eight major planets. While preparing to leave the system, after conducting a month-long survey, he encountered the wreck of an unknown spacecraft sheathed by a crystalline skin. If his ship hadn’t been in the right place, at the right time, the vessel would have gone unnoticed, probably to current times, because it was outside the system’s plane of the ecliptic. The vessel appeared to have been attacked and was the equivalent of a hull size 5 craft. Inside it contained the bodies of more than two dozen dinosaur-like creatures. Zebulon took several samples and set a radio beacon on the craft, hoping to retrieve it later before successfully jumping back to Dramune and to the news that the Frontier was at war with the Sathar. The explorer turned military scout and was of great aid to helping Admiral Vincent Morgaine and his rag-tag fleet of the Second Common Muster. Years later, after the founding of the United Planetary Federation, Zebulon turned his attention back to star system F9C4572 and the samples he had collected. He was loath to just register the route with the new Frontier Office of Survey and Statistics. Although he would have received a modest finder’s fee and a royalty from any proceeds from future developments, he wanted much more than that. During the First Sathar War, Zebulon had made contacts with Cassidy Dynamics, a major corporation based on Triad (Cassidine) that had offices throughout the Human arm of the Frontier.[i] He approached the company and was warmly received. They offered him an undisclosed sum for his discoveries and promptly made a deal that made him a consultant, but allowed Zebulon to maintain his independence. When Cassidy Dynamics was reorganized in 8 FY as the Cassidine Development Corporation, the development of F9C4572 was one of top projects on its agenda. Zebulon returned to the system, but was unable to find the crystalline craft. (After Volturnus was opened to exploration, later tests on the samples that Zebulon had collected confirmed that the craft was Eorna in origin). See the system brief here: http://starfrontiers.us/node/9267Joe Cabadas |
August 24, 2016 - 6:07am | Now for Laco I had created my own system brief based on the one that was in a Star Frontiersman issue plus Jedion's musings here and later in, I think, Frontier Explorer. The relevant section deals with the First Sathar War and a way to replace the Capellan Free Merchants' role. Being a rather inhospitable environment, Laco wasn't an ideal world to settle. Once the (Tetrarch) ruins were found, it became a scientific research center. Its one major community, Point Glass, is. more of a town that a city with a population of roughly 50,000 inhabitants, The community is located along the banks of Heston Sea in the south, it has the planet’s only public star port. Also near Point Glass is the vast ruins of a Tetrarch Societies’ city that’s been called Diocletian, for lack of a better name. During the Sathar War, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled from Truane’s Star, seeking temporary shelter at Laco. Before many of them could continue on to the Prenglar system, a Sathar attack fleet blocked their escape route. As the Sathar landed ground forces, the refugees sought shelter in Diocleatian, where they dug in as the worms sent down ground forces that included a number of cybernetic attack monsters. The “Battle of the Ruins” lasted for 203 days GST. Tens of thousands of Frontier colonists died of thirst and starvation until the Pan-Galactic Corporation was able to mount a series of relief and evacuation missions while a portion of Morgaine’s fleet fought off Sathar attacks. Ground forces of the Second Common Muster engaged the worms. After the Battle of Two Fleets at Prenglar, signaling the end of the Sathar war when both sides were devastated, the vast majority of refugees returned to Truane’s Star, leaving behind refugee camps that were soon swept aside by the deserts. It is rumored that the Sathar left behind large caches of weapons. Joe Cabadas |
