Post by Captain Benjamin Maxwell on Jul 14, 2005 13:03:18 GMT -5
Planet Details: Valasha
Star Type: G8V
Position in System: 4 (of 7)
Number of Moons: 1 (Rusalka)
Days to Jump Point: 2
Surface Water: 63%
Atm. Pressure: Standard (Tainted)
Surface Gravity: 1.02
Equatorial Temp: 37° C
Highest Native Life: Mammals
Population: 271,487,000 (approximate)
Governor: Eridius Chavez
Planetary Legate: Consuelo Lombardi
OVERVIEW:
Colonized August 15, 2569, by pilgrims following the teachings of Admiral Julius Santiago Avellar, Valasha was, at first, settled as a haven for those wishing to escape the intense political environment of the Inner Sphere. Featuring a tropical, Terra-like ecosystem, with lush jungles, sandy beaches, and rolling plains, the world was an ideal location for cash-strapped wayfarers to begin anew, by making a living off the land, and selling their harvests for profit.
By 2600, the population on Valasha had soared to exponential numbers. Still an agricultural society, dependent on trade, the largest city on the planet, Puerto Valacia, played host to a wealth of markets, harbors, and the world's only spaceport. This sprawling metropolis quickly became a popular pit stop for spacefarers from all walks of life, from pilgrims to tourists, merchants to pirates, and, occasionally, Clanners in search of trade and intelligence.
Because of the then-total neutrality of the world, and the lack of any sort of governing political bodies to create and enforce rule on Valasha, its society was a lawless one. This did not present a problem to its original inhabitants, who were peaceful followers of the Omniss cult, but as the population expanded to incorporate many immigrants who did not ascribe to the religion's tenets, crime began to spread, and without any sort of law enforcement present, any 'justice' that needed to be meted out became largely the work of vigilantes. By the time Admiral Avellar founded the Outworlds Alliance, of which Valasha became a member, the planet's first governor, Marchita Alvarez, had her work cut out for her. The planet had become a haven for outlaws, political exiles, and pirates, who used the world as a base of operations from which to conduct their cutthroat business. Puerto Valacia itself had been taken over by El Mano de Hasan, a powerful crime family who controlled the population through fear and intimidation. Their stranglehold on the planet's largest businesses nearly destroyed Valasha's economy before Governor Alvarez was finally able to remove the last of Hasan's thugs from power.
Although Alvarez did much to improve the quality of life on Valasha, her reign was short-lived. Her appointment to planetary governor, which was intended to bring a greater sense of order to the planet, had the opposite effect on the populace, and in short order, hundreds of political factions had formed, each one attempting to orchestrate its rise to power through whatever means necessary. In the third year of her governorship, Alvarez was assassinated by a member of a radical political sect which quickly seized control of the world. This type of violent succession continued, largely unchecked, with one ruler after another being slaughtered every few years, until, at last, the armies of the Avellar regime were large and strong enough that local militias were able to be posted on all of the Outworlds. Their presence helped to quell local uprisings, and an era of peace ensued.
In recent years, the people of the Outworlds Alliance have become increasingly frustrated with their seemingly-inept, increasingly uninvolved government. Political corruption has begun to run rampant, and crime is on the rise. The Alliance, once a haven for refugees seeking asylum from the near-constant wars of the Inner Sphere, has begun to fracture, as uprisings against the Avellar regime have begun.
Reports from the Outworlds Alliance indicate that Valasha itself has fallen into a state of political instability. Communications, garrison control, trade routes and jump monitoring stations have been disrupted, and an underground political movement, calling itself The Reach, has claimed responsibility.
POLITICAL NOTES:
Of all the government systems to emerge in the Periphery, the Outworlds Alliance claims the strangest collection of separatists and anti-social types. Indeed, many political commentators have referred to the Outworlds Alliance as a geographic expression of collective political chaos. Unlike the Taurian Concordat or the Magistracy of Canopus, the Outworlds Alliance was never intended to be a lasting political entity. Indeed, its existence was due to accident as much as to design.
The founding father of the Outworlds Alliance was Admiral Julius Santiago Avellar. As a junior naval officer in the closing years of the 2300s, Avellar was appalled by the ease with which the states of the Inner Sphere sought to settle their differences through increasingly destructive wars. Withdrawing to the world of Alpheratz in 2413, Avellar devoted the rest of his life to literary denunciations of the warmongers of the major Houses.
Though he may have planned to live out his life in obscurity, Avellar became the leader of a virtual cult. His compassionate pleas for an end to war created the Omniss, a new philosophical sect. Advocating the rejection of any technology that did not contribute to the preservation of life, followers of Omniss flocked to Avellar's agrarian haven in the Periphery, much to the chagrin of the hermit-like Avellar.
Before long, people from every social order began to descend on his home on Alpheratz. As the hundreds quickly became thousands and the thousands became tens of thousands, Avellar's homestead was quickly overrun with political and social dissidents. Expanding outward from Alpheratz in all directions, Omniss farmers and their supporters began to colonize neighboring star systems in a frenzy, persuaded by Avellar's writings that galactic doomsday was just around the corner. Faced with the growing problems of managing and caring for the well-meaning but technologically inept multitudes on his doorstep, Avellar was forced to do the one thing that he hated most: to create a government able to provide for the needs of his newfound followers. The result was the Outworlds Alliance, a union born more of necessity than actual desire.
Since the beginning of the 31st century, the situation in the Outworlds Alliance has become particularly grim. With the general loss of technology, Alliance worlds have suffered from declining population and literacy levels. Though protected by a strong military, many of these planets are unable to feed their own people. The people feel that their government has betrayed them, and there have been many riots and demonstrations against the hereditary Avellar regime in recent years. Although no one has yet seriously challenged the right of House Avellar to rule the Outworlds, armed rebellion is likely if the deteriorating situation does not reverse itself.
Star Type: G8V
Position in System: 4 (of 7)
Number of Moons: 1 (Rusalka)
Days to Jump Point: 2
Surface Water: 63%
Atm. Pressure: Standard (Tainted)
Surface Gravity: 1.02
Equatorial Temp: 37° C
Highest Native Life: Mammals
Population: 271,487,000 (approximate)
Governor: Eridius Chavez
Planetary Legate: Consuelo Lombardi
OVERVIEW:
Colonized August 15, 2569, by pilgrims following the teachings of Admiral Julius Santiago Avellar, Valasha was, at first, settled as a haven for those wishing to escape the intense political environment of the Inner Sphere. Featuring a tropical, Terra-like ecosystem, with lush jungles, sandy beaches, and rolling plains, the world was an ideal location for cash-strapped wayfarers to begin anew, by making a living off the land, and selling their harvests for profit.
By 2600, the population on Valasha had soared to exponential numbers. Still an agricultural society, dependent on trade, the largest city on the planet, Puerto Valacia, played host to a wealth of markets, harbors, and the world's only spaceport. This sprawling metropolis quickly became a popular pit stop for spacefarers from all walks of life, from pilgrims to tourists, merchants to pirates, and, occasionally, Clanners in search of trade and intelligence.
Because of the then-total neutrality of the world, and the lack of any sort of governing political bodies to create and enforce rule on Valasha, its society was a lawless one. This did not present a problem to its original inhabitants, who were peaceful followers of the Omniss cult, but as the population expanded to incorporate many immigrants who did not ascribe to the religion's tenets, crime began to spread, and without any sort of law enforcement present, any 'justice' that needed to be meted out became largely the work of vigilantes. By the time Admiral Avellar founded the Outworlds Alliance, of which Valasha became a member, the planet's first governor, Marchita Alvarez, had her work cut out for her. The planet had become a haven for outlaws, political exiles, and pirates, who used the world as a base of operations from which to conduct their cutthroat business. Puerto Valacia itself had been taken over by El Mano de Hasan, a powerful crime family who controlled the population through fear and intimidation. Their stranglehold on the planet's largest businesses nearly destroyed Valasha's economy before Governor Alvarez was finally able to remove the last of Hasan's thugs from power.
Although Alvarez did much to improve the quality of life on Valasha, her reign was short-lived. Her appointment to planetary governor, which was intended to bring a greater sense of order to the planet, had the opposite effect on the populace, and in short order, hundreds of political factions had formed, each one attempting to orchestrate its rise to power through whatever means necessary. In the third year of her governorship, Alvarez was assassinated by a member of a radical political sect which quickly seized control of the world. This type of violent succession continued, largely unchecked, with one ruler after another being slaughtered every few years, until, at last, the armies of the Avellar regime were large and strong enough that local militias were able to be posted on all of the Outworlds. Their presence helped to quell local uprisings, and an era of peace ensued.
In recent years, the people of the Outworlds Alliance have become increasingly frustrated with their seemingly-inept, increasingly uninvolved government. Political corruption has begun to run rampant, and crime is on the rise. The Alliance, once a haven for refugees seeking asylum from the near-constant wars of the Inner Sphere, has begun to fracture, as uprisings against the Avellar regime have begun.
Reports from the Outworlds Alliance indicate that Valasha itself has fallen into a state of political instability. Communications, garrison control, trade routes and jump monitoring stations have been disrupted, and an underground political movement, calling itself The Reach, has claimed responsibility.
POLITICAL NOTES:
Of all the government systems to emerge in the Periphery, the Outworlds Alliance claims the strangest collection of separatists and anti-social types. Indeed, many political commentators have referred to the Outworlds Alliance as a geographic expression of collective political chaos. Unlike the Taurian Concordat or the Magistracy of Canopus, the Outworlds Alliance was never intended to be a lasting political entity. Indeed, its existence was due to accident as much as to design.
The founding father of the Outworlds Alliance was Admiral Julius Santiago Avellar. As a junior naval officer in the closing years of the 2300s, Avellar was appalled by the ease with which the states of the Inner Sphere sought to settle their differences through increasingly destructive wars. Withdrawing to the world of Alpheratz in 2413, Avellar devoted the rest of his life to literary denunciations of the warmongers of the major Houses.
Though he may have planned to live out his life in obscurity, Avellar became the leader of a virtual cult. His compassionate pleas for an end to war created the Omniss, a new philosophical sect. Advocating the rejection of any technology that did not contribute to the preservation of life, followers of Omniss flocked to Avellar's agrarian haven in the Periphery, much to the chagrin of the hermit-like Avellar.
Before long, people from every social order began to descend on his home on Alpheratz. As the hundreds quickly became thousands and the thousands became tens of thousands, Avellar's homestead was quickly overrun with political and social dissidents. Expanding outward from Alpheratz in all directions, Omniss farmers and their supporters began to colonize neighboring star systems in a frenzy, persuaded by Avellar's writings that galactic doomsday was just around the corner. Faced with the growing problems of managing and caring for the well-meaning but technologically inept multitudes on his doorstep, Avellar was forced to do the one thing that he hated most: to create a government able to provide for the needs of his newfound followers. The result was the Outworlds Alliance, a union born more of necessity than actual desire.
Since the beginning of the 31st century, the situation in the Outworlds Alliance has become particularly grim. With the general loss of technology, Alliance worlds have suffered from declining population and literacy levels. Though protected by a strong military, many of these planets are unable to feed their own people. The people feel that their government has betrayed them, and there have been many riots and demonstrations against the hereditary Avellar regime in recent years. Although no one has yet seriously challenged the right of House Avellar to rule the Outworlds, armed rebellion is likely if the deteriorating situation does not reverse itself.