Magash Globe






Magash   Planetary Survey         

Magash is a Balkanized world. It is located in the Sabine Subsector, Deneb. Magash is a vacuum world. The population inhabits a number of caverns underneath the surface of the planet. Water is available from ice pockets located deep underground. Each cavern system is governed independently. There is no central government, and no Marquise of Magash. The planet is home to several Barons and a few dozen knights. It is also the home of the Her Grace, Silvan Diisarirga, the Duchess of Sabine, who is also the Baroness Diisarirga holding the Diisarirga caverns as her fief.

Starport:

The Imperial Starport is located in Irahiir cavern, which is administered independently by the Imperium. Due to the balkanized nature of the planet, there are several other private spaceports, most of which can also service starships at least as well as a Class II starport, with minimum services available, but generally able to supply fuel.

Magash Highport contains extensive construction facilities. Raw materials are typically shipped in from the belts and gas giants rather than from the planet.

Planetary Details

Size: 4000 miles

Atmosphere: None

Hydrographic Percentage: None

Population: Most of the 8 billion inhabitants live in one of the twelve main cavern systems that have been constructed in the 700 years since the world was first colonized. A relatively small number of citizens live in outlying stations and smaller cave conclaves. Most inhabitants of Magash Highport are transients who work for the SPA or one of the two Megacorps who maintain construction facilities there and are not counted in these population figures.

Control Rating: CR 6 (Most Firearms Prohibited.) The extreme hazard of living in an artificial environment has resulted in almost all of the cavern communities placing stringent restrictions on the ownership of most weapons. Energy and most slug throwing weapons are totally prohibited. Shotguns, which fire low penetration loads, and snub pistols are generally allowed, though exact requirements vary from community to community.

Tech Level: TL12. Local industry is very advanced. Ship components are manufactured in orbit. Most communities include extensive fabrication facilities for vacuum and hostile environment gear as well as environmental systems. Controlled environment farming practices are also very advanced. Still Magash imports much of its food from outside the system.

History

By the time Magash was colonized in 298 the Vilani had had a presence in space for almost 10,000 years. The first colonists migrated from Benora (Deneb/Atsah). Benora was itself a Balkanized world, having many independent underground arcologies. Colonist came to Magash seeking independence from the factional politics on Benora. They first settled in the Ashirahikag caverns. The readily available ice pockets in the caverns allowed the settlers, who were well outfitted with TL-10 equipment, to quickly setup a self-sustaining closed environment. The Vargr Campaigns were still on going at this time so the colonists were relatively isolated for most of the next several decades.

By the time the Vargr Campaigns ended in 348 the Magash system was a key refueling stop on the J-3 route to Vanzeti. About this same time a group of miners from Dehka (Deneb/Vincennes) arrived in system. Magash had no official Starport, the SPA classifying the Class I Starport above the Ashirahikag caverns as a private port.

The leader of the Dehkans, Neriki Irk was a detached duty scout, who had made a fortune in asteroid mining. He convinced the Scout Service and the SPA to authorize a starport and Scout Base to be built in Irahiir Caverns. The inhabitants of Ashirahikag Caverns were quite unhappy to find that their claim to the planet was not recognized by the Imperium.

Irk managed to come to an understanding with the Ashirahikag cavern group that left them as an independent entity, with a small cut of the profits from the starport.

The two groups existed in relative peace for the next several decades. The First Survey recorded over 3 million inhabitants living on Magash.

The next turn of Magash’s fortunes came in the form of Baron Nene Naagaasir Diisarirga, the youngest son of the Count of Iirames. Through negotiation with the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service and with the blessing of the Duchess of Mora Diisarirga took possession of a series of caverns on Magash’s southern hemisphere. Bringing workers from his father’s estates on Kesali (Vland/Kakadan), he soon turned them into one of the most productive on the planet.

The three factions on Magash each sent its own troops to the First Frontier War. Baron Nene Naagaasir Diisarirga raised troops from his holdings on Magash and elsewhere. Diisarirga had the good sense to withdraw his troops prior to hault-Plankwell’s advance on Capital. This caused a break with his older sister, the Countess of Iirames, who supported the upstart Emperor. This quickly proved to be her misfortune, as later pretenders squandered the forces she sent to see to her interests in Capital.

Nene remained at home and threw his support behind the Frontier Fleet as the Zhodani renewed hostilities in 615. When Arbellatra marched on Capital, she left a cadre of forces in the Marches, including troops from the Diisarirga Magash Colonial Regiment.

Nene Naagaasir Diisarirga found his reward, as he was elevated to Duke of Sabine on the 630 Birthday List. The first subsector capital was established on Magash.

A benefit of Magash’s long relationship with the Scout Service was the establishment of a dogleg XBoat route from Bahadur to Seleen to Magash Spinward and from Marnie’s World to Magash Rimward. Major J-2 and J-3 trade routes also connect these worlds.

Arbellatra established several Baronies on Magash as a reward for some of the other Magash forces from Ashirahikag and Irahiir. The Empress granted fiefs to the new barons in undeveloped caverns in the Menashiriikuu, Mikiramisi, and Asiranedii regions.

The independent caverns of Magash maintain a cordial but guarded relationship with each other.

In 720 Iirames Irii Diisarirga, Duke of Sabine, Count Iirames, Baron Ariram invited Geschichtkreis Sternschiffbau AG to build a small shipbuilding facility at the soon to be constructed Magash Highport. The lack of ferrous ores available in-system was initially a problem for GSbAG. Duke Iirames managed to secure guarentees from a certain group of entrepreneurs from Ashirahikag Caverns, who had a going concern importing raw materials from outsystem. He managed to convince GSbAG management that sufficient raw materials could be made available to support a small shipyard; the kind of facility that could do the small production runs of quality craft GSbAG was famous for. Duke Iirames, a small GSbAG shareholder, arranged for the Megacorp to enter into a partnership with Magash Shipbuilding and Spacedock Company, a wholly owned endeavor of the Diisarirga family. The two companies operate separate shipyard facilities at the highport. MS&S also licenses ship designs from GSbaG, who is famous for their designs throughout the Imperium.

The Diisarirga family holdings over the next 200 years continued to grow at a reasonable, but not extraordinary rate.

The End of the Third Frontier War saw veterans of the 1574th Profor Infantry Battalion, originally from Icuspin (Vland/Kakadan) purchase land at Shiranadiizugash caverns from the Baron Asiranedii.

These are still the major independent groups on Magash today. Each maintains its own military forces, though Diisarirga is known to have the best trained. Several of the caverns have hired their forces out as mercenary troops over the years, all of which specialize in protective forces infantry or armored hard vac cavalry in one form or another. Nikhasha Diisarirga was the first to set up a mercenary company to practice the trade full time.

 

Cavern

Family

Imperial Patent

Local Patent


 

Diisarirga

Diisarirga

Duchess of Sabine

 

Feudal Techocracy


Kaariiderarak

 

 

Director

Constitutional Monarchy


Raaberkhirimi

 

 

Director

Constitutional Monarchy


Irahiir

 Emike

(Baron)

Leader

Feudal Techocracy

Starport/Scout Base

Ashirahikag

 Ikhen

(Baron)

Earl

Feudal Techocracy

First settlement

Isirihikag

 Isirihikag

Baronet

 

Feudal Techocracy


Menashiriikuu

 Menashirii

Barony

 

Feudal Techocracy


Mikiramisi

 Mishirahig

Barony

 

Feudal Techocracy


Asiranedii

 Ishirehiir

Barony

 

Feudal Techocracy


Raanezuuk

 Olsen

 

 

Family Oligarchy


Shiranadiizugash

 Shiranadii

(Baron)

Colonel

Military Oligarchy

1574th Profor Infantry

Iidiizuuk

 Iidii

(Baron)

Earl

Feudal Techocracy


 

Magash System

Several smaller settlements are sprinkled throughout the Magash system. Isirihikag Organics maintains a station at the larger gas giant, Uumire. Several mining concerns are located in the inner belt and sell to both GSbaG and MS&S.  

Magash Highport

Magash Highport is a large facility. As well as commercial and private berthing and warehousing facilities, it contains two separate shipyards and a Scout Waystation. Over 2 million passengers pass through Magash Highport every week.  

Magash Downport

Magash Down is located in the Irahiir Caverns. There is no true extrality line. The starport is located in a series of underground chambers that is connected to the rest of the Irahiir facilities through three mass transit tunnels. Custom controls are primarily centered on these gateways. While commercial and private spaceports on Magash still use a large number of freestanding berths on the surface, all of the berths at Magash Down are underground. This makes freight handling and repair work much more convenient at the Imperial port than at its commercial rivals. Magash Down handles twenty times the freight of all other planetside ports combined.  

The Planet

Magash’s population primarily lives underground. The so-called caverns each consists of a system of sophont-made tunnels connecting together natural caverns that have been sealed to allow a livable environment. Landing pads are located on the surface with support facilities underground. A few manufacturing facilities and solar power system equipment are located on the surface, but these are typically unmanned.

Gravity

The Vilani Empire found millennia ago that allowing humans to live in environments where gravity was below .8 G results in long term genetic shifts in populations. The low gravity causes the development of a weak boned, abnormally tall subspecies of human in an amazingly short time. Imperial civilization has had gravity control technology for thousands of years. The common practice is to install gravity plates in habitats on low gravity worlds. The citizens of Magash live the balance of their lives in a standard 1 G field. 

Flora and Fauna

Magash has no native species. Despite its IISS NA (Non-Agricultural) designation, many foodstuffs are grown on Magash. It is true that most base stock consumables like wheat, rye, rice and beans are imported, as are meat and seafood. Magash farms specialize in fruits and vegetables. Synthetic food production facilities (Fauxflesh vats) help reduce Magash’s dependence on imported food, but most inhabitants still eat far more imported than locally produced products. 

Resources

The primary resource of Magash is raw materials in the form of mineral deposits, including rare earths like Lanthanum and many kinds of crystals, including Zuchai Crystals. Metal ore is also available, though the most prevalent metal used in starship construction, iron, is not available in large quantities. Most iron must be imported from outside the the system. Musayid (Deneb 0214 E5448AE-5) is a major exporter of iron to Magash, and has been for centuries. Many of the Actinides are mined in the inner asteroid belt. The amount of copper on the planet is phenomenal. Surface deposits of oxidized copper give the Jade Wash its characteristic green color.  Some starship components, especially jump and maneuvering drives, are constructed on the surface and transported to the highport shipyard.

System resources include mineral ores mined from the inner asteroid belts and chemicals harvested from Uumire, the largest of the gas giants.  

Transportation

The primary method of transportation between the cavern arcology communities is via suborbital transport, often through the Highport. This is made necessary by Magash rather unique free zone territorial laws. A small amount of surface transport does occur, usually heavily guarded.  

Government

The primary type of government on Magash is the Feudal Techocracy. Four of the major cavern arcologies are ruled by Imperial Nobles, who hold patent on most of the land within the cavern structures from the Emperor. Four other arcologies are held by local nobles, who are considered as equivalent to Imperial Barons, even though they do not hold fiefs from the Emperor.

Due to the nature in which Magash was colonized initially, only the cavern areas were considered as having value. Part of the original compact between Neriki Irk and Ashirahikag was the concept of the free zone. The compact held that all surface areas greater than 5 miles from the boundaries above the caverns themselves would be free zones, unclaimed and out of the jurisdiction of either of the groups. As more settlements were developed this became the standard. Surface areas directly above the habitats are considered as territorial areas. Areas more than five miles outside these boarders are “free”. No planetary government is responsible for their administration. Land  cannot be claimed on the surface, except to build under it, and even then, “squatters” holes are not normally recognized.

These free territories have attracted a certain number of freebooters, squatters and vac rats. Travel for the unarmed can be dangerous.  Outside the habitats, with no entity to enforce restrictions, Control Rating drops to 1. As only groups of cavern troops and freebooters normally wander the surface, visitors to Magash are not likely to experience this. Most local governments are not anxious to add to the freebooter arsenal, so offworld visitors are not generally allowed to bring weapons from offworld through the arcologies to the free zone. Any visitor who must travel the surface is encouraged to hire local “guides” who will have the proper clearance to be well armed.

 

Local Corporations 

Isirihikag Organics

Isirihikag Organics is a wholly owned by the Isirihikag clan. While the company has existed for several hundred years, it has only been during the most recent times that it has managed to buy out the other independent scoop miners skimming organics from Uumire,  to become a real force in both the system and the subsector. This has become evident by the recent award of a baronet title to the clan patriarch. Baronet Sir Dadaniiri Gedad worked hard to impress upon the Archduke Norris the importance of having an agent in place on Magash. Most of the members of the peerage on Magash trace their patens back to the time of Arbellatra, and have been supporters of the Duchess of Mora’s family for many generations. While all are loyal to the Imperium, the unusual size and prowess of the colonial forces, as well as the economic power of the various factions has the potential to be a destabilizing force in the sector. 

Magash Shipbuilding and Spacedock Company

MS&S is a wholly owned endeavor of the Diisarirga family. It shares designing facilities with the local office of Geschichtkreis Sternschiffbau AG through an almost 400 year old deal with GSbAG negotiated by Duke Iirames Irii Diisarirga. The stability and duration of this arrangement has been made possible through judicious market splitting by the two companies.

MS&S specializes in mass produced subsidized merchant craft, as well as low end J-1 and J-2 free merchant hulls. They also produce, under license, a number of modular cutter modules. The Spacecraft Workshop Division is well know throughout the sector for their low-cost, but well made, line of gas giant skimming tankers as well as deep vac work modules.

For several centuries MS&S has produced both the Type S scout/courier and any number of modifications/conversions of this design. For many years MS&S scout ships were plagued with problems with their lifesupport systems, mostly caused by design flaws in the originally specs received from the IISS. The company claims that recent upgrades in the air purification systems have solved these problems.

MS&S also produces jump drives, as well as drive calibration equipment, and drive annual calibration kits, for export.

Geschichtkreis Sternschiffbau AG

GSbAG continues to specialize in high quality jump capable ships, as they do at all of their shipyards throughout known space. They also support a small commercial starship crew-training academy located at Magash Highport. GSbAG liners and merchants provide one of the major links between Magash and its major trading partners on Seleen and Marnie’s World.

Magash Maximus Corporation

MMC specializes in military hardware, emergency medical equipment and mercenary units, advisors and personnel. Among them are Silvan's Troopers, Diisarirga Medtechs and Sabine Emergency Transport. Like MS&S, MMC is a wholly owned endeavor of the Diisarirga family, with Corporate offices and training facilities on Magash and sales offices on worlds in both the Spimward Marches and Deneb Sectors.

Sabine Transport

Sabine Transport runs liners and freighters to the various worlds of the sector. With stock owned primarily by the Diisarirga Family ST is a corporation who can also count members of the Imperial family, the Duchess of Mora, and GSbAG among its stockholders. It operates almost entirely in the Deneb Sector although it does jump to Mora in the Spinward Marches, providing a major link between these two sectors.