Planet: Roudnitska

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Overview

A water world with many small islands, each controlled by a tightly-knit extended family. A detachment of offworld troops causes consternation.

Quick Facts

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• Starport: C-class (routine quality, unrefined fuel)
• Gas giant and scout base in system
• Diameter: 5,000 miles / 8,000 km (significantly smaller than Earth)
• Atmosphere: Very thin
• Water coverage: >90%
• Population: 200,000
• Government: Participating democracy
• Law level: 3 (laser weapons and automatic rifles prohibited)
• Tech level: 9 (interstellar)
• Trade classification: Non-industrial
• Space lanes to: Jayasuriya (jump-1), Daara (jump-1)

Government, Law, and Diplomacy

Each extended family on Roudnitska sends a delegate to a parliament, where laws and decisions are debated and voted on. When necessary, individuals can be elected to temporary positions of authority.

Families are responsible for upholding the law in their own territories. Weapon laws are permissive, but military weapons such as lasers and automatic rifles cannot be carried without a license (which is not available to non-citizens).

A small detachment of Auleyan soldiers are posted on Roudnitska as a guarantee of defense against aggression from the New Imperium. This has been approved by the parliament, but many Roudnitskans dislike having foreign soldiers stationed on the planet.

Interstellar Travel

In a given week, ships with the following destinations may be present at the starport:

• Jayasuriya - 8+ chance
• Daara - 10+ chance

The Starports

Roudnitska has not one starport, but three, each on a separate island located a dozen or so kilometres away from each other. The starports are quite small. Each can support one ship of 1,000 or 800 tons, two ships of 400 or 200 tons, or three ships of 200 tons or smaller. Ships of more than 1,000 tons cannot land.

Each starport has a building with accommodations for travellers, separate from the main settlement of the family controlling the island.

Geography

Roudnitska is covered by water. Thousands of rocky islands dot the ocean, each measuring just a few kilometres across. There is no land-based life, but plenty in the sea. The atmosphere contains a minimum of oxygen, just about enough to let a human survive if they sit still, take deep breaths, and don’t do anything. A respirator is necessary for any activity.

The Ocean

© Nobu Tamura

Shelled and tentacled creatures (resembling the Orthoceras of Earth’s past) are the dominant animals of the sea. Fish-like creatures and plankton make up the bottom of the food chain.

The shell-squids come in many shapes, from tiny ones the size of a finger, to species as large as whales. Shell-squids are generally not aggressive unless provoked, but there have been incidents where they interpreted a fishing ship’s radio frequency as a mating call, with disastrous consequences. These days, Roudnitskan fishermen know which frequencies to avoid.

Unbeknownst to the humans, the world’s many islands are very old and very large female shell-squids. When a shell-squid reaches this stage of their life, they bury their tentacles in the sea floor, point their shells upwards, and start filtering plankton. They carry fertilized eggs that one by one mature into baby squids, birthed out into the ocean. Over the years, sediment accumulates around the old squid, but when a baby is born it digs a tunnel through the sediment on its way out, thereby opening up access to plankton for the mother. The sediment eventually solidifies into rock, but the tunnel remains open. Tectonic movement will cause the tips of the rock-covered shells to poke above the ocean surface. On these islands, the humans have built their settlements.

The Families and Settlements

There are about 1,000 extended families on Roudnitska. They have an average of 200 members each, though the numbers can vary from as low as 20 to over 1,000. Every Roudnitskan citizen must belong to one family. In a marriage, one partner leaves their old family and joins the other’s. Offworlders who become citizens are adopted by a family.

Most families are ruled by one or a few elders, but some have adopted democratic rule.

Each family owns an island that holds their settlement. These are singular, sprawling buildings that maintain a breathable atmosphere. Guests need permission from the family before they may enter.

Fishing and kelp harvesting are the major occupations of most families, but some maintain oil rigs.

The Auleyan Detachment

200 soldiers from Auley are stationed on Roudnitska. They have constructed a base on a previously uninhabited island. 20 soldiers are posted at each starport, rotated regularly. This is a highly sought after assignment, as the soldiers get a chance to seek entertainment and meet locals and travellers. Curious local youths flock to the starports to meet the soldiers, against their parents’ wishes.

Some Notable Families

Valgan (1,100 members)

The largest family on Roudnitska. They have grown so numerous that the parliament has granted them the right to settle an additional island. This island is quite remote. Many of the younger family members who live there feel little kinship with the main family, wishing to split off into a separate family.

Besamoun (200 members)

The island of the Besamoun family holds the Roudnitskan parliament. The family makes a point of being politically neutral, but many of its members are strongly against the presence of Auleyan soldiers on Roudnitska. They feel betrayed by the head of the family, Edmon, and the parliamentary delegate Birgin (Edmon’s niece), for not having opposed this decision more forcefully.

Bourun (150 members)

Garamanka (190 members)

Klotraus (180 members)

These families each control one of the three starport islands, providing services to visiting ships and travellers. They have good relations with each other, and have a more progressive outlook than the typical traditionalist families.

Scenarios

- Auleyan soldiers start setting up a ground-to-space missile system on one of the starport islands. This requires deep drilling into the rock to secure the weapon platforms, piercing the shell of the squid on which the island rests, annoying it.

- The New Imperium finally strikes. Their fleet clashes with the Auleyan fleet in space above Roudnitska.