BARD PAPER OPAL4016

Jumpstart Caches

by Nick Bradbeer

The Jumpstart caches are divided into two categories. Major caches were established under the auspices of the 1103 Project Jumpstart, and were designed to provide a technological leg up to the Imperium in the event of some unspecified catastrophe. These were large facilities generally colocated with existing Imperial facilities, containing databases of scientific, engineering and manufacturing methods, as well as blueprints for crucial systems like jump drives. These caches were part of a grand scheme, often requiring a determined planetary effort or interstellar co-operation in order to gain access.

Smaller caches were created during the Civil War throughout Strephon's territory to safeguard specifically against Strephon's fear of an Imperium breaking down into a Second Long Night of isolated worlds and enclaves, ravaged by the indiscriminate strikes of the Black War. These caches were generally located away from major Imperial facilities (them being likely Black War targets) and were keyed more towards local bootstrapping.

Sinta Subsector

Major Caches

Inarli B-677989-D Pop 4 Billion
A High-Pop world with moderate stellar tech and a breathable atmosphere, Inarli was deemed highly likely to survive in recognisable form in the event of catastrophe. Lacking a major Imperial base, the cache was planted under the downport section of the Imperial Starport. Nuclear bombardment by a Vampire ship in 1131 levelled the starport, rendering the area uninhabitable for several years and damaging the cache in the process.The cache was eventually accessed at an unspecified date by a joint Inarli/Tahspeck effort.

Panic Caches

Sinta 2037 A-201830-D Pop 300 Million
Lacking an atmosphere, Sinta's population inhabited either domed communities or orbital stations. The orbital starport, co-located with the 2249th Imperial AstRon's home base, was deemed a likely target. Four subterranean caches were constructed, each containing an unarmed 400 ton spacecraft, technical databases and the location of a crippled TL-13 Asteroid Monitor set up in the system's asteroid belt as a makeshift cache. The arrival of Virus to the airless world killed the population off far too rapidly for any of the caches to be discovered. Since the monitor was shut down and indeed stripped of many systems, it may well have avoided infection and even discovery.

Kloakin 2239 B-572834-9 Pop 200 Million
Home to the 2189th Imperial Frontier CruRon, Kloakin was a habitable world with significant naval facilities. But for the nearby presence of Inarli, it would have been a good candidate for a proper Jumpstart cache itself.During the Civil War, a dozen surplus TL-9 SDB hull shells were quietly sunk in one of the world's small oceans to form a poor copy of a proper cache. The cache was eventually uncovered by the Brinn, the technology therein being largely responsible for their rise to TL-9 and the consequent upgrade of their starport.

Kateri-Divad 2238 was passed over due to the xenophobic nature of the Brinn. Not that that eventually stopped them.... Fabeticu 2233 was passed over due to the locals' rejection of technology.

Sashrakusha Subsector

Major Caches

Dialreck 3036 B-5858CF-6 Pop 700 Million
Despite being a fairly low-tech world, Dialreck was selected as the location for the subsector's primary cache. Located in vaults added onto the naval base's meson defence network, the main cache was augmented by several small equipment stores set out in the asteroid belt. Locater hints for this extensive facility were set on Nart-Roft, Sashrakusha, Wentu-Ruu and several surrounding worlds. The facility had not been completed at the outbreak of the civil war, so it was eventually sealed without all the intended contents having been assembled. Dialreck largely survived Virus, due to its low tech level and almost total lack of computers. The only place Virus did gain a foothold was in the naval base, damaged early on by Samson strains, then taken over by Empire Builders. Fighting between the empire builders revolved around the base's meson deep sites, which were eventually all destroyed. The cache probably survived in some form, although it will be difficult and dangerous to reach. The underground railways will have been heavily damaged, not to mention the risks from the winning EB.

Kanorb 2733 C-473976-C Pop 7 Billion
Not host to an Imperial Squadron, but highly populated. Kanorb's cache was not hidden within an Imperial facility, but rather tunneled deep under an area used as a training ground by the planetary defence forces. The area was full of underground facilities - fuel dumps, training areas designed to simulate meson deep sites or PAD silos, armouries and so on. The cache was well hidden under an apparently derelict facility and very well sealed. The location was clued from numerous major libraries, government buildings and universities oper the planet, but entry would also require codes hidden in several small facilities scattered over Umaraag and Sumezu, including some designed to be accessible by Umaraag's Chirper population. With the loss of interstellar flight, this fact prevented access to the site.

Above 3232 A-726886-E Pop 400 Million
Concealed within the system's substantial navy base, this cache was much smaller than either the other two in the system. It contained the technological databases and navigational instructions for the subsector's other caches, but no artefacts. Above's destruction during Collapse leaves the fate of this cache unknown.

Panic Caches

Nart-Roft 2735 C-575886-9 Pop 900 Million
Nearly a High Pop world, Nart-Roft's habitable biospphere led to Strephon's planners placing an uplift cache there. Several small subterranean or submerged bases were constructed, each requiring codes from others in order to be unsealed. Nart-Roft's balkanised post-collapse nature subverted their purpose, as nations refused to share codes with one another, fearful that others would uncover a high-tech weapons dump. Some caches were destroyed in military strikes to deny them to other nations, and none were ever properly unsealed.

Sintoshee 2640 E-656779-4 Pop 70 Million
Three uplift caches were constructed here late in the civil war. Sintoshee was a low tech world, unable to use jump drive blueprints, so while thecaches retained the databases and blueprints, they also included moderately sized caches of tools, supplies and vehicles, including aircraft. It was no coincidence that the three major warlords dominating Sintoshee's surviving population were the three to sieze control of these caches. Oops.