Message-Id: <9305181002.AA24547@soda.berkeley.edu> To: tne-pocket@ocf.Berkeley.EDU Subject: Pendang update & why I'm being quiet Date: Tue, 18 May 1993 03:02:36 -0700 From: George William Herbert Appended is the latest Pendang writeup. It's evolved a lot, in response to dsicussions here and info from Survival Margin. Basically, Pendang is not quite as far along the path to regaining high-tech as it was in the previous version; it's about a TL lower (8 avg) and considerably less operational starships as of 001-1201 (about 7 total 8-). They are even more of the slow starter in this version. They were impeded a bit during the dark years by some Vampire fleet attacks. They're mean, they're lean, and they just rediscovered the joys of Jump Drives. Iiiiiit's Pendang! [and it's way too late and I just finished the first complete draft of a technical paper I present a week from today ARGH sorry, but I've been busy] Enjoy 8-) -george ----- INTRODUCTION This section shows you an important section of the Aoreriyya region in the New Era, the planet of Pendang (1231 Reavers Deep, UPP B8769B6-9 Hi 403 as of 001-1201). Pendang has the highest surviving starfaring population, but is crippled by its being forced to rely on very low- tech electronics and computers. In the New Era, Pendang is a power to be reckoned with, though it is a second-rate power in Aoreriyya compared to planets that have recovered more electronics and computer capability. It's inhabitants, known as Pendys, are commonly encountered throughout Aoreriyya. Pendang Before the Imperial Rebellion The Pendang system was origionally colonized around -1950 (Imperial calendar) by a band of assorted Solomani humans seeking a relatively lush and free world to settle. The planet was named after the late wife of the expedition commander, Pendang Yee. They were attracted to Pendang due to its relatively good climate and excellent agricultural potential. The planet was overgrown with native jungle, but if cleared (and held back) the soils were perfectly acceptable for earth-native plants, and several native species of plants are edible by humans. The planet's atmospheric taint is organic byproducts of decay from the jungle conditions. Relatively simple filters remove all but a slight lingering scent of the taint. Humans can actually breathe the raw atmosphere for many hours before they suffer significant ill effects. The population of Pendang slowly grew, as did its industrial capacity, for the next thousand years. Around the year -1010, an Aslan clan seeking new land arrived in the Pendang system and tried to conquer Pendang. While the people of Pendang had no starflight capacity, they did have spaceflight technology, and fought a vicious war in close orbit and on the ground. The ihatei of the Khalyasyu' clan scored initial successes, but once Pendang's humans organized their resistance they defeated the Aslan, capturing many prisoners. These prisoners quickly became a massive pain in the neck for the Pendang government. After considerable soul-searching, they freed the prisoners of war and gave them the planet in an inner orbit around Pendang's star, a mostly water world with vicious weather (though tolerable temperature). The Aslan were amazed that the Pendys were so magnanamous as to grant land to vanquished enemies. By the time reinforcements from the Khalyasyu clan arrived, the prisoners of war requested permission to stay. Their clan eventually relented, and they then pledged fealty to the government of Pendang. Pendang's government encouraged the Aslan to fish and mine the world, which the Aslan named Steiraya, and trade with Pendang for industrial goods. This relationship has been maintained ever since, and the presence of Aslan has helped keep Pendang's population open to the concept of aliens. It also helped that the local fish in Pendang's oceans are inedible; the fish from Steiraya are considered a delicacy on Pendang. That was the situation until the year 831, when the neighboring planet of Marlheim, which had conquered two smaller worlds already, invaded Pendang. Marlheims' strong Navy and Marines quickly took control of Pendang (even though nearly twice as many people lived on Pendang as Marlheim). The new government (a Duke from Marlheim) was more opressive than the old government but the people's attitudes remained open. Pendang has remained the only world in the Grand Dutchy of Marlheim to avoid travel zone classification as an amber zone. Culturally, if not governmentally, Pengang was a outward-looking, friendly planet. Recent History through the Hard Times The government of Pendang, members of Marlheim's nobility, were not initially very close to the population. By 1040, however, the situation had loosened up considerably, and the Duke of Pendang (Duke Johann IX) married the daughter of a prominent Pendy businessman. His son, Duke Frederick IV, married a Marlheim native in 1065. That marriage was strained: Fredricks' wife Venna was a harsh, unfriendly woman, and the marriage had been political to begin with. Frederick's son, (later the Duke) Gunther Yee, was born in 1071. He married a Pendy native schoolmate in 1090 over the strenuous objections of his elitist mother. They immediately set out producing a new horde of heirs. When Duke Frederick IV died in a starship accident in 1093 Gunther Yee became Duke of Pendang. He already had an infant son (Johann, named for his greatgrandfather) and shortly a daughter (Melissa). The Grand Duke of Marlheim had for a long time allowed Pendang a great deal of autonomy, as long as its industries churned out needed military goods, its shipyards produced vessels for the Grand Dutchy's navy, and its taxes came in on time. Duke Gunther Yee set about opening up many of the restrictions that his predecessors had placed upon the populace, though his loyalties continued to lie with Marlheim. The population was estatic, and Pendang went through a cultural and economic flowering from 1095 through 1116. As the chaos of the Rebellion and wars within the Imperium began to be felt throughout Aoreriyya, the Grand Duke of Marlheim decided that he was going to expand his borders somewhat, and ordered Pendang to shift to a wartime economy to help produce weapons to conquer new worlds. The population of Pendang resisted the order; they didn't want to help attack other worlds. They didn't want to reduce their standard of living either. Duke Gunther Yee went to Marlheim to plead their case with the Grand Duke. He discovered that the palace politics of Marlheim had little relation to external realities. Even though Gunther Yee represented over half the population of the Grand Dutchy, his words fell upon deaf ears. He returned deeply shaken in his faith in the Grand Dutchy's government. Nonetheless, he obeyed his orders, and retooled the industries of Pendang. In 1118, Marlheim's Navy invaded the world at 1133 Reavers Deep, intending to press on with a campaign to eventually conquer Eakoi. This move, in addition to a threat to Eakoi, was seen as a threat by the Unity of Harmony, whose border lies just trailing from Eakoi. The Grand Duke of Marlheim ignored the Unity of Harmony's protests, but a covert diplomatic mission from the Unity of Harmony to Pendang was more profitable. Duke Gunther Yee was by now thoroughly sick of his leaders in Marlheim. With covert backing from the Unity of Harmony Duke Gunther Yee declared Pendang independent in 1119 and managed to take over about a third of the Marlheim Navy. The Marhleim Navy had been particularly strong in its use of the Battle Rider/Tender concept. Among other things, it allowed the production of riders at Pendang (whose Starport of B could produce jump drives only with considerable effort). One of the effects of this was that Pendang's main military force was tied to but a few large jump tenders it had captured. Fearful of Pendang going on the offensive, Marlheim's navy quickly concentrated its efforts on destroying them. After a year of sharp battles, Pendang was left with no jump tenders but a strong insystem defense force of battleriders (and good repair facilities for them). Its smaller starships ranged out to the worlds of the Grand Dutchy, dropping special operations teams with equipment and supplies to forment rebellion against the Grand Dutchy, but it was incapable of fighting any strong force except in the Pendang system. Similarly, except for a naval base installation it still controlled on Pendang's moon, Marlheim made little headway towards recapturing the Pendang system. Pendang had started with less ships, but its population and shipyards gave it an advantage in industrial capacity that became stronger over the next four years. While its ability to project power was stagnant, Pendangs' system defense capability increased strongly. The Grand Duke refused to end the war, however, and futile attacks into the Pendang system continued. Finally, in 1124 the Grand Duke stopped playing by any sembalance of rules of civilized warfare and marshalled what remained of his navy into a massive nuclear strike against the Pendang starport and other military industries. It was a measure of how far Marlheim had fallen that the attack barely succeeded to do any damage to the planet: twenty nuclear missiles hit the planet, which nearly destroyed the shipyards at the starport but did no other damage. In a stroke of bad luck, Duke Gunther Yee was in orbit on a ship that was destroyed during the attack. His son, Johann Yee, immediately suceeded his father and announced that Pendang would extract revenge on Marlheim for this heinous attack and would use its military might to ensure peace in the subsector. He also appealed to the Unity of Harmony for assistance. However, their support for Pendang waned as they saw Pendang's new government swing towards the same agressiveness which caused the Unity of Harmony to act against Marlheim to start with. The Unity of Harmony decided that the best way to safeguard their border was to let Marlheim and Pendang fight it out and weaken each other. As the war ground on, the standard of living both of Pendang and the Grand Dutchy dropped, and Pendang slowly sank to roughly TL8, though it still operated a lot of TL10 hardware from before the war. By 1127, the war had ground both sides down further still, and the populace's faith in Duke Johann Yee started to crack. He ceded power to a council of lower nobles on 225-1127, about eight years into the war. They proved no better at governing than he was, however, and the populace was still unsatisfied. Fortunately, things were falling apart faster on Marlheim than Pendang, and the intensity of the war never built up again after the 1124 strike. The Virus The situation remained stable if bleak from 1127 through 1131, with occational raids from Marlheim making life difficult in the Pendang system. Then, with no warning, in mid-1131 disaster struck Pendang (as it did the rest of the known galaxy). The Virus, the computer-inhabiting lifeform/weapon Lucan had loosed as a final terror weapon, arrived at Pendang on 91-1131 and lay dormant for a month and a half. The specific strain (as described in New Era terms) was a variant 2D or Reproducing Doomslayer which had decided that Humaniti was evil and must be cleansed from the cosmos. It slowly and quietly spread throughout the Pendang computer networks. Then, with no warning, at 7:41 AM on 132-1131 all the computer networks and starship computers went berzerk. At 7:42:04 AM one of the defense satellites main computers popped open all its airlock doors with built-in scuttling explosives, killing the on-board crew. Once the virus in its computer was sure the crew was dead, it fired all missiles on board at targets in space and on the ground. Most of the missiles did little damage, but about one hundred hit highly populated areas. Over 930 million people died. The rest of the defense station crews shut down their computers (in more than one case using hand weapons) and took their weapons systems offline; the one bases' bombardment was to be the only major incident of weapons being fired. About three hundred assorted naval vessels turned vampire and left the planet; most of the rest the rest either self destructed or were scuttled by their crews or by accident. By noon, the planet had ground to a halt. All vehicles and computer networks were either shut down or acting erratic or hostile. Most technological worlds subjected to that level of disruption in the virus's attack suffered population implosions. Pengang had a technological lucky break. A grav vehicle mechanic, working on a grav-based truck that had been taken over by the virus before it was powered off, discovered something interesting: the vehicle's computer core was intact, though its memory had been corrupted. When he disconnected all communications and transponder hardware from the computer core and installed fresh uninfected memory, the computer came back to life operating normally. The computer was one manufactured by Xin Industries using Gallium Arsenide chips instead of Silicon. Unlike conventional silicon computers, the virus had been unable to leave "eggs" or infection spores behind in the Gallium Arsenide-based computers. While it's programming had taken over and subverted the programming on the GaAs-based computers, the chips survived intact and with new, uninfected memory and programs they could be brought back to life. As word spread that some computers might still operate, hope flared, and soon communities were uniting to try and rebuild those computers that could be saved and restore transportation, communications, and power to the planet. The discovery wasn't the salvation of Pendang, however, but a gentle cushion to the fall. Less than one in twenty computers in inventory were of safe models. When efforts were mounted to restart production, the authorities were dismayed to realize that the Virus had forseen this tactic and had targeted Xin Industries' factories and orbital GaAs wafer facility in the nuclear attack. There were no factories left to restart, and almost no technicians who knew how to rebuild the factories. Once communications were restarted, the council of nobles tried to coordinate recovery efforts, but with transportation still disabled and industry ground to a halt the planet sunk into anarchy. Islands of civilization with working technologies were surrounded by large zones of lawlessness and despair. By 1135, the population had dropped to 3.3 billion (from 5.1 billion before the war), there was no government for 90% of the planets population, and the prevailing new-construction technology level was only TL 5. Only barely did Pendang hold on to any civilization and technology; the buffer or cushion that the few safe computers allowed, of communications and transportation and some essential industry, saved Pendang from the fate that befell tens of thousands of other worlds: it's population mostly survived. But the road to recovery wouldn't be easy for Pendang. Recovery In 1132, in the northern metropolis of Cardwell, Melissa Yee (the daughter of Duke Gunther Yee) had established a stronghold of civilization after losing contact with her older brother when the Virus struck (he was never seen alive after that day). She recognized that the people needed to be fed. When the few remaining vehicles which were pressed into food-transport service started to break down, nearby areas of jungle were cleared and the people immediately started farming, producing enough food to support the quarter-billion people living in the massive city. She kept essential electricity flowing, though not as much as before the virus, and enforced the laws and kept people's living conditions healthy. She also began reviving use of Canals for long-distance surface transportation. Melissa Yee was strong and ruthless, and the people under her thrived. Melissa realized that the surviving Xin computers were not going to last forever, and began a program to rebuild the technological infrastructure around TL 5 computers which could be built at that point, based mostly on vaccum tube technology. In early 1133, over 100 of the vampire ships that had fled during the initial infection returned from the outer system intent upon finishing the job. Melissa's meager naval resources (ten heavy system defense boats) and ground-based missiles finally forced them away, though both sides were nearly annhilated. In 1134, Melissa married one of her technical experts, and shortly bore the first of what were to be five children, her daughter Ella. Melissa smoothly orchestrated news of her marriage and child's birth, using it to help lever confidence in the rebirth into her people. By 1136 the situation in Cardwell was stablized, and Melissa began restoring services to the areas surrounding it. Few people resisted her advance; she brought reliable food, order, and safety where she expanded her power base. She expanded slowly and sensibly, only as fast as her resources allowed stable control. In 1137 another Vampire Ship raid hit the planet. This time, while space-based defenses were relatively weak, ground based missile batteries were able to hold their own and destroyed most of the Vampire ships before the Vampires finally withdrew. It took eight years, but by late 1142 the last populated areas of Pendang were brought under Melissa's power. The population had stabilized at 3.1 billion. Once basic human needs were restored unformly across the planet, Melissa concentrated on a massive reconstruction program to build replacement (albeit much lower tech) computers in the factories, power plants, and in vehicles. In 1143, the prototype orbital factory for Gallium Arsenide chipmaking was destroyed in a Vampire ship sneak attack, but the TL 5 computer manufacturing went well. This slow technological turnaround took until 1145 to show any signs of progress. A coalition of government officials eventually requested that Melissa assume her late father's and brother's title in 1146. At 7:45 AM on 132-1146, fifteen years nearly to the minute from the Virus's attack, Dutchess Melissa Yee assumed the throne of Pendang. At that point, the population had grown back to 3.2 billion people and the general tech level had recovered slighly to TL 6 (except in computer technology). For the next fifteen years, most of the efforts of the Pendang population were spent on shoring up their technology and industrial base. Infrequent vampire raids kept Pendang on its toes, but did relatively little damage. Some fusion generators that had been built at TL10 were still running, as units were cannibalized and high-tech parts replaced with low- tech substitutes, but the situation wasn't really stable until a mixed-spectrum of technical solutions allowed Pendang to claim a peak tech level of TL8 in 1170, but still stuck with TL6 computers. Dutchess Melissa even approved a limited exploration of outer space again, using rebuilt small craft. The first exploration was a quick survey of the remaining orbital bases. The second was a quick survey of Pendang's moon, which revealed little , but when the first expedition back to Steiraya found the Aslan in good shape, hope for the future soared. Soon limited trading between the two worlds commenced with a dedicated transport. In 1173, two incidents damped the Pendys enthusiasm for a return to space. First, one of the transports on the Steiraya run suffered an engine failure and was stranded in deep space for several weeks. By the time a rescue vessel found it, its crew had died. At a time when less than 10 small craft comprised the entire Pendang navy, this incident had a significant emotional impact. The second, and much more severe, incident was started when an exploratory team in the ruins of the Marlheim Navy base on Pendang's moon accidentally turned one of the base's main computers back on while testing some power connections. The computer, which had been thoroughly infected by the Virus, immediately utilized what was left of its internal defenses to kill the explorers, and tried to launch a massive missile attack upon Pendang. Fortunately for the inhabitants of Pendang, the missiles hadn't been run through annual inspections and maintenance for 30 years, and even those that launched properly still lacked explosive power. The Tritium in their thermonuclear warheads had decayed into helium, rendering the warheads mostly duds (and the remaining warheads merely 25 kiloton or so). Still, the 200 missiles that did function and hit targets did significant amounts of damage. About another 200 million people died that day and in the aftermath. The first bombardment nearly collapsed Pendang's civilization. The second barely scratched what was now a very tough society. It only took six months for a counterstrike to wipe all traces of the base from Pendang's moon; while the dead were long missed, the industry and population absorbed their losses and rebuilt in five years. By 1180, Pendang was back where it had been when it reentered space. However, the tragic consequences of the earlier explorations dampened the curiosity of the Pendang people and leaders. Dutchess Melissa refused to authorize any further activities in space except in Pendang orbit and to the Aslan on Steiraya. From 1180 onwards, Pendang concentrated on a economic rebirth, regaining some of the quality of life that had so well served its inhabitants a half century ago. Dutchess Melissa died in 1182 at the age of 89. Her daughter Ella assumed the tile of Dutchess at the age of 45, and is still the Dutchess today (as of 1201). Dutchess Ella continued Melissa's program of economic growth and industrial progress. By the year 1201, Pendang's factories could again produce some TL 9 items and systems, though the average is still TL 8 and computer manufacture is still tragically crippled at TL 6. Pendang Rediscovers Starflight In the year 1197, Dutchess Ella approved a limited program for Pendang to start rebuilding some starships that were decaying around the old starport site, to investegate the situation beyond the Pendang system proper. Ella and her advisors agreed that the likely situation was that nearly everyone had died or fallen back to the stone age; the Virus was very destructive. In no particular hurry, by 1200 they were preforming test flights and had just done a calibration jump insystem (to Steiraya) when an unidentified starship appeared in the sky above Pendang. Pendang was too late; the rest of the universe had come back to see them first. THE NEW ERA Once Pendang was aware of other planets status, a number of different movements arose among the Pendang leadership. The most aggressive of them recalled the words of the late Duke Johan Yee's statements about Pendang becoming a power within the subsector and urged a massive return to space. Some, recalling the horrors inflicted by the second bombardment, argued for interdiction of all offplanet contact for the safety of Pendang. Many moderates wanted to explore slowly, but saw more pressing needs on Pendang for funds (it is still regaining technology and the standard of living its inhabitants lost after 1120 and 1131). The factions quickly polarized much of the upper government. Industry, realizing the benefits of wartime production and the markets and resources of conquered worlds, fell in line behind the radical expansionists in clamoring for a fleet. Religous organizations, which counted about half the population among their flock, split between moderate and xenophobic movements. Most of the population as individuals had moderate sentiments. Dutchess Ella probably would have established a firm moderate position had not one of the religious organizations nearly started a rebellion. The Kergorite Church, a strong religous faction whose leader, Jonah Kergor, had gained most of his support by proclaiming the second bombardment "Just and fair punishment by God for our aspirations in the stars", proclaimed that anything but total isolation was heretical and started uprisings in several major cities to replace the nobility with an isolationistic religous dictatorship. The Kergorites failed, but the upheaval that they caused led Dutchess Ella to focus on healing the social wounds that had let the Kergorites gain a significant following, trying to focus on a long-term solution to the near rebelion. She announced that the government would follow an officially moderate policy, with trapings of isolationist sentiments. In reality she allowed the expansionists considerable autonomy over industrial policy and outsystem relations, so that she could concentrate on social and internal political issues. The one real check on the expansionists was actually the existing military. With nearly fourty million men under arms and an immense political and budgetary block, the Army was reluctant to cede much funding for naval procurements. While Pendang's planetary defenses are formidable after years of Vampire attack, its shipyards have been able to rebuild only two 1000-ton starships and five smaller ones, and industrial buildup for mass production is moving slowly. The Pendang Navy is led by officers handpicked by the expansionist faction. As a result, the navy is aggressive and domineering towards outside powers. It does still suffer from the not insignificant disadvantage of TL 6 computers, which is a significant moderating influence. So far during the New Era, Pendang has been unable to procure high-tech computers from other sources. Encounters Outside Pendang There are two major ways to encounter citizens of Pendang in Aoreriya. Pendang's seven (as of 001-1201) starships are often seen in other systems in the Aoreriya core regions. These encounters are often unfriendly if not hostile; Pendang's naval officers are nearly uniformly from the Expansionist political camp. More commonly, however, are encounters with individuals, mostly of the moderate faction. In sharp contrast to naval crews, the moderates are curious and as a rule friendly, trying to explore the quadrant or trade with the inhabitants of other worlds in peace. Naval Encounters: The probabilities of encountering Pendang Naval ships are listed in the starship encounter section elsewhere in this suppliment. In general, these starships are merely on "show the flag" type missions: they are there to project Pendang's presence, explore, or trade. The most common exploratory vessel is the "Indimidator" class thousand-ton vessel, of which two are currently operational. They have a total crew of 54, plus 26 troops. On exploratory missions, the 26 troops are usually two 8 person heavy infantry squads, a two person command team, and one eight person contact team. Standard procedure is to embark an 8 ton grav carrier in cargo space in the ships boat, and for the ship itself to stand off in high orbit, while the ships boat flies to low orbit (with eight troops on board) and the grav carrier, with the contact team in it, lands. This way, the ships safety is not impaired, but rescues are usually possible. If Naval crews are encountered on shore leave, they tend to be aggressive but politically pretty neutral. Pendy Naval Officers, on the other hand, are both agressive and expansionistic. They will treat other governments with disdain (but enough respect to avoid being expelled). Their service schools train them that way. Individual Encounters: Any normal encounter may be with a Pendang citizen. In this case, the initial encounter reaction roll may serve as a guideline of how moderate the individual is; the better the reaction, the more moderate, but the worse the more expansionistic. Most Pendys encountered offplanet are pretty moderate. The moderate majority are comfortable with offworlders, interested in aliens (many have met Aslan from Pendang or Steiraya in the Pendang system), especially the relatively exotic Droyne. They are clearly envious of high tech computer hardware, but due to the export restrictions are generally unable to aquire any. Many of these people are Pendang's nobles and industrial leaders. PENDANG: THE PLANET Pendang orbits its star (Lumio, an F2 V star) at a distance of xxx AU. 60% of its surface is oceans, mostly in the northern and southern polar regions. It has no axial tilt of note, but does have a slightly eccentric orbit (0.015). The average temperature ranges from 20 C in winter to 24 C in summer; it is not unknown to be hotter than 35 C at midday in the equatorial regions where much of the populace is. Humans tend to cluster near bodies of water that help regulate daily temperature swings. One result of the warm temperature and high hydrographic percentage is frequent afternoon rain near large bodies of water, even though "weather" (storms, heavy winds) is minimal. Imagine a planetsized rainforest. Pendang has no icecaps, and only very very rarely does the temperature on the surface drop below 0 C. Pendang is a large world, about 13,000 km in diameter. The surface of Pendang is remarkably flat; while it has little weather to speak of (thus slow erosion), Pendang hasn't been geologically active for at least hundreds of millions of years. The biggest chain of hills is due to a recent (million year ago) asteroid impact. The surface of Pendang is wet and hot but not overwhelmingly so. It is reminiscent of a tropical rainforests in the Amazon of earth. Pendangs' native plant life is hardy and well adapted to the hot weather. Bacteria that recycle dead vegitation produce waste gases that are nauseating and mildly toxic to humans; this is the source of the atmospheric taint. At sea, away from the jungles, humans can live and work without filter masks, but on the land nearly everywhere is jungle and requires filtered air. All buildings are equipped with filtration systems, and simple and cheap (and recyclable) filters are available to the population. In case of emergency, humans can breathe unfiltered air for several hours with little ill effect besides increasing discomfort. After 1D6+3 hours, a character will begin to get nauseous and ill (1D3 temporary reduction in Dex and End) and after 2D6+6 hours will be incapacitated. After another 2D6+6 hours a character will die of atmospheric poisoning. The treatment is simply to provide filtered air and let the character regain strength (1 to 2 days if incapacitated). The surface flatness of Pendang has led to its use as a transportation method: shallow canals have been dug between all major cities, and most cargo is transported by water (a lot cheaper than via Grav vehicle). The current technology level components of Pendang are: Pers Mil: 9 Hvy Mil: 9 Computers: 6 Cmp. Intrfc.: 7 Commo: 7 Environ: 8 Medical: 8 Transport: 8 Space: 9 Energy: 9 One important note is that while TL 9 production is now state of the art, the majority of installed equipment is TL 8 or TL 7. Pendang has only regained TL 9 in the last few years. TL 9 consumer goods are a highly prized commodity at this point. And due to the computer embargo, nearly all electronics remain TL 5, with the limit on new-manufacture of TL 6. The major exception is that the Pendang engineers have determined how to manufacture bulky Electronic Linked control panel units (effectively TL 8, but 0.05 Kl instead of 0.01) and Heads-up Displays. Some very few high-tech starship-sized computers also exist, probably around 10 combined surviving Xin models and imported models aquired quietly. Details are sketchy. Persistent rumors hold that the Pengang government has been building high-tech computers for years but that they have a continual virus reinfection problem and have never been able to deploy any of these systems. Pendang: The People and Government The current population of Pendang is 3.613 billion people, at an average Tech Level of 8 (though TL 9 manufacturing is beginning to reappear). The population is nearly entirely human: a small population of Aslan exists on Pendang and about as many live on Steiraya (about 12,000 evenly divided between the two worlds). The government is a non- charismatic leader (Dutchess Ella doesn't have the presence of her mother), though a significant bureacracy exists. About half of the population is affiliated with a religous organization of some sort; more than a dozen major organizations exist on Pendang. Few in the general populace are politically active, as the nobles manage most policy. There are strong pools of generally moderate and generally isolationist sentiment, however. The government is still in a state of upheaval following the recent Kergorite rebellion. Dutchess Ella and most of the government and population are following introspective policies as a result of the rebellion and turmoil. Elements of resistance are still present in the countryside, but for the most part the unrest is over. Dutchess Ella has four children. Janet, the oldest at 32, is a rising star in the Pendang Navy. William (28) is active within the government, primarily on social and economic issues. Darren (23) is in college studying Art. Deidre (18) has been running around enjoying herself, with little idea of what she wants out of life. THE PENDANG SYSTEM The other planet of interest in the Pendang system is Steiraya, in orbit 2 of Lumio (the Pendang system's star). There is an additional small mining colony on Kvhord, the vaccum world in orbit 4, but it is rarely visited by outsiders. Steiraya: This is a small, mostly water world, with truly scary weather. "Calm" periods are when the wind is only 30 kph and the waves 2 meters high. During storms (about 15% of the time, roll 6+ on 1D6 for a storm to occur any given day, DM +1 in polar regions), winds pick up to up to 200 kph and waves have been known to top 20 meters. Buildings on Steiraya are built to survive the weather; they tend to be built as well as military bunkers are on other worlds, with better drainage (and at least 20 meters above sea level...). During Vampire raids, the Steirayans merely went indoors and shut off radios and other things likely to attract attention. Paying attention to weather prediction and always bringing survival gear are facts of life. On roads between villages, rarely do you go more than five kilometers between storm shelters (with room for several vehicles). A few heavily armoured (and heavy) vehicles are able to withstand most storm winds and move about: the local starport has two of these transport vehicles, and eight more are scattered around the planet. Even armoured and ballasted down, every couple of years one of these vehicles is flipped over and damaged in a storm. Compensating for the hazardous weather are great fishing grounds. Aquatic life is vibrant, and considered tasty by both Aslan and Human. Most of the population (6300 Aslan) is engaged in activities related to fishing in the oceans of Steiraya; about 500 people work in industrial jobs, including a local iron mine and steel smelter operation and a submarine yard. The fishermen (and women) are hardy folks. They fish from submarines, working on the surface but escaping storms by riding them out deeper in the ocean. The traditional Aslan concept of "land" has different meaning here; the inhabitants of Steiraya prize their fishing grounds territory, not on-land property. Some fishing grounds, designated as "Clan Property", are allowed to visitors from Pendang for "sportfishing" (for fees of up to Cr100 + sub rental cost of about that much, per day). Although they have adopted Pendang as their "clan", they have a fully functional small clan structure (led by a council of elder respected fishermen, for the most part) and are effectively independent of Pendang. They still honor their long-ago pledge of fealty to Pendang, but Pendang's view of the relationship is more close trading partners than conquered clan, so they only rarely take any advantage of the situation. Kvhord: This world has supported small iron and nickel mines for most of the last thousand years. Kvhord is not self-sufficient, relying on imported food from Pendang. When the virus hit Pendang, the miners on Kvhord were lucky enough to have two small spacecraft with Xin Industries main computers, and were able to evacuate the population of 400 back to Pendang over two months, with little loss of life. The current (as of 1201) inhabitants, only 100 workers, were sent to reopen the mines by an expansionist noble, who bought the mining rights in 1199. While visitors are not prohibited, there are no facilities to support them, and the mines are private property and offlimits. Other Worlds: Helios, the small (230 km) world in orbit 1, has an 8-person solar observatory run by the University of Cardwell. The rest of the worlds are uninhabited. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION, PENDANG SYSTEM Orbit Name Description Notes Primary Lumios F2 V 0 Spek Y-S00000-0 1 Helios Y-S00167-7 Solar Observatory 2 Steiraya H-658379-9 Pop 6300 Aslan 3 Pendang B-8769B6-A Pop 3.6 billion 4 Kvhord H-401218-8 Mining, pop 250 5 Y-230000-0 6 LGG 7 LGG 8 SGG THE PENDANG NAVY Pendang has rediscovered interstellar flight relatively recently, and has a technological disadvantage that is significantly hindering its progress (low-tech computers and control systems). The largest ship they can manufacture around a Computer Mod/1 is a 1000 ton destroyer, fondly (and somewhat inaccurately) named the "Intimidator" class. It was quickly adopted as the "standard" Pendang Navy ship (the best they can locally manufacture) and put into volume production. The ship is a 4-G, Jump-1 vessel with an endurance of 68 days with no jumps, 54 days with one jump, 40 days with two jumps, and 26 days with three jumps (which leaves only five days of operations after the third sequential jump). It is armed with two laser and six missile turrets, two sandcaster turrets for defense, no hull armour, and a clunky and failure prone triple redundant TL 5 Model 1 computer array. It is equipped with one 30-ton small craft and has a 10 ton cargo bay on board. The crew is 18 officers and 36 ratings, and 26 troops are carried. From the exterior, it's streamlined box configuration makes it look menacingly clunky, and those who have toured its interior report on a striking difference between the TL 10 power plant and the TL 5 computer core. Pendang currently (001-1201) has two operational Intimidators, with one more fitting out (will be operational during the first quarter of 1201) and three more under construction, due to be completed before 1203. Unknown to the general populace of the area, each Intimidator also has an operational Computer Mod/4fib (old Xin Industries computer), though these are now pretty unreliable with age. The TL 5 and 6 Mod/1 computers were installed to ensure flightworthiness even if the salvaged computers fail. -end-