Welcome to Sector Hades Zeta
Part 3 of 4, The Long Road
Cartography by Nikita Zuev. Thank you, Nikita!
The Long Road is a series of isolated systems that are attempting to create a League, uniting the planetary governments and spread Spike Drive capable navies more widely across these worlds. The growing pains are evident and the forces working against them are well provisioned.
Charu [Odysseus System]
Spoiled Eden
Atmo: Thick
Temp: Temperate
Biosphere: None
Population: 100K+
TL: 4
About: Once Charu was a rich world with a fecund biosphere. Then the democratic councils that govern the world declared fearful laws against psychics and began to launch into state-sponsored hunts against anyone with MES or even a glimmer of psionic ability.
Charuan propaganda clings to the theory that the world’s life was destroyed by an arch-psychic’s powers but there is strong scientific evidence that it was nanite swarm maltech causing an ecological cascade of destruction, destroying the indigenous life and causing the atmosphere to become dangerous to humans. Today, humans cannot survive long on Charu without the aid of air filters. Charu is a world desperate to import food, with soil that is not able to sustain any crops and atmosphere that has turned dangerous, causing plagues that are decimating the human population.
Charuan imperialists are looking at their neighbor, Valenzuela, saying that they have harbored psychic terrorists and deserve to be warred upon.
Eriphyle [Polyxena System]
The Archive City, The Hades Zeta Library, H.Z.L.
Atmo: Breathable
Temp: Warm
Biosphere: Miscible
Population: 10K
TL: 2
About: Eriphyle is a moon circling a gas giant named Polyxena, from which the system takes its name. Eriphyle shows clear signs of having been terra-formed and is covered in cryptic ruins, showing strong evidence that an alien species was in the sector before human settlement. The outpost is governed by an administration that proudly traces its lineage back to the Preceptor Archive created to track data and offer information access since the first days of human space exploration.
Eriphyle’s knockdown from TL3 to TL2 is a source of fierce shame, as data has become corrupted and lost as information infrastructure broke down and computer networks collapsed. Some archivists still hold out hope that when the archive regains its technological glory, coordinates of Olde Earth will be among the pieces of data uncovered.
Hild [Grima System]
The Holy Outpost, the Keystone
Atmo: Breathable
Temp: Cold
Biosphere: None
Population: 100K+
TL: 4
About: Hild is a well populated outpost, recently claimed by the Most Holy Navy as a colony and refueling spot for their fleet. The refueling satellite stations are linked to the planet’s frigid and barren surface by space elevators that hold fuel reserves taken from a a trio of gas giants in the system.
Hild is in a central location, allowing access to several clusters of systems with a decent Spike Drive. If there is a war for control of the sector, control of this planet will be a key strategic point.
Hilf [Theano System]
Factory Planet
Atmo: Airless
Temp: Temperate
Biosphere: None
Population: 1M+
TL: 3
About: Hilf is a glorified asteroid pulled into orbit around Theano, a blue-white sun. Under the planet’s barren crust are thriving manufactories whose workers build goods that go out all over the sector. The planet is ruled by a strong alliance of labor unions who are wary of the TL4 corporate interests who want to turn the manufactories to building spike drives and other TL4 goods.
Valenzuela [Odysseus System]
Hades’ Bread-basket, The Blue Gem
Atmo: Breathable
Temp: Warm
Biosphere: Hybrid
Population: 1M+
TL: 3
About: Valenzuela is a world with amazing pretech domed cities that keep the sun’s radiation from harming the human population. The city governments are desperate to activate the broken shards of a broken fleet of perimeter agency ships that orbit the planet in hopes of building a navy around these pieces and defending themselves against Charuan aggression.
Outside the cities and manicured plantation oases, the blue jungles that cover the world are alien, glorious, and dangerous,
Githyanki Diaspora 