Kidagir was a border planet that changed hands during the Rebellion. The descendants of the Vargr corsairs who occupied the planet hold the tiny human population in slavery. An expedition to aid the enslaved humans disappeared during the latter days of the war. -by CG
Plunge stands at the head of the great Ushamla Main that once spread commerce
through the sector from the Imperial core to the spinward frontier. The
planet's population lived in tunnels hollowed into the planet's crust, made
inhospitable by the Collapse.
Trade brought great wealth to Plunge, and the biggest businessmen were the
leaders of the government. Their powers were dictatorial, but they were said to
have exhibited great respect for their underlings. The descendants of the ruling
class and the plebeian class are the sole inhabitants of Plunge in the New Era.
-CG and MTJ 3
On Neghu Oug, the population up until the time of the Collapse was an uneven
mixture of Vargr and Ojehshodu, the world's indigenous minor race. The
Ojehshodu are a race of large, aquatic mammals, unsuited for life on dry
land—very little of which exists on ocean-swathed Neghu Oug. The
technologically unsophisticated Ojehshodu readily submitted to foreign rule when
the Vargr arrived. Interestingly, one Vargr sociologist, Dartsongze, suggested
in 972 that the Ojehshodu ran the planetary government, manipulating the Vargr
leaders as unsuspecting puppets. Dartsongze was murdered within weeks. It is
uncertain to this day whether he had uncovered an Ojehshodu plot or was killed
at the request of insulted Vargr politicians.
The Ojehshodusaw no small amount of poetic justice when the Vargr were
arbitrarily annihilated by invading Vampire Fleets after the Collapse. The
Ojehshodu now live peaceably in their oceanic homes. -CG and TD 18
As its name indicates, Oegoerrvu was originally a Vargr world. With the
planet being so miserable, the Vilani were content to let them keep it, and the
Solomani were too distracted by governing such a vast empire that they never got
around to checking it out. Not so the Third Imperium. Emperor Martin II
recognized the importance of the spinward sectors and sought to preserve a
"transit corridor" to them. Thus began the Vargr Campaigns. One of the annexed
worlds was Oegoerrvu.
Maybe the Vargr didn't mind losing Oegoerrvu; the smell of sulfur is
particularly acute. The concentration of sulfur compounds in the thin atmosphere
is high enough to warrant a "tainted" rating. Filter masks are required for
both species as exposure to sulfur compounds over even a short period of time
will lead to respiratory problems.
In order to feed the 200 million inhabitants, food has to be imported or grown
indoors. While there are local flora and fauna, the presence of sulfur in the
ecosystem has made it unpalatable at best. Still, the high price of imported and
hothouse food has incentivized the locals to hire modern day shugilii,
Vilani specialists who make incompatible food digestible.
So why is such an inhospitable place home to 200+ million inhabitants? Extensive
rare earth metals. Mining is the number one industry on Oegoerrvu, and so long
as it remains profitable, the world will be more than just a fuel stop.
At the onset of the Vargr incursions in Corridor, Oegoerrvu was reclaimed for
Vargr by the Irrgh Manifest. However, once the Vilani realized what was
happening, they pushed backed the Irrgh advance. But with limited assets
available to the Vilani Navy, the two sides have reached a stalemate with the
border. Still, Irrgh forces continue to test the line with Oegoerrvu and other
border worlds. Most of the inhabitants are too poor to evacuate, hoping that
whoever wins will let them mine in peace.
Long Shot earned its name when belter Sarah Minsky quipped to her deep
pocketed investor friend, Tashwana Federbushwali, about the chances that they'd
find a nickel rich asteroid in the system. The initial survey conducted by the
Ziru Sirka stated that the asteroids were all of carbonaceous origin, but Minsky
found irregularities in the data that she felt were indicative of hastily
conducted scans. Given the Vilani preference for coreward and rimward expansion,
the system's location on the spinward frontier of the Ziru Sirka suggests that
perhaps the scouts who did the work were in a rush to finish their surveys and
go home. We'll never know.
Federbushali's trust in Minsky's skills paid off and made the two of them very
rich. A settlement was built into a hollowed out asteroid, and a government was
established—primarily to oversee that nothing interfered with the mining
operations.
Over the centuries, however, the local government has become more intrusive.
When disputes between rival belter organizations got too hot, the government
started a licensing program and banned weapons. When companies played fast and
loose with safety, it established a standards compliance program that was
considered overreaching. In essence, the pendulum swung from fully hands off to
fully hands on everything. While production has suffered, malcontents have moved
on to other belts and those that remain continue to earn a living.
-by DED
The origin of the world's name is lost to antiquity. It is thought that,
perhaps, it's a bastardized form of deceiver. It was thought that a solar
system with a G1 V primary would be an ideal place to find a world like Earth.
Instead, there's an asteroid belt 1 AU out from the star, and the mainworld is
1.6 AUs out and a desert planet.
Desiver might not have ever been settled but for the system's two asteroid
belts. The world's population exists to provide services to the belter
community, such as food, fuel (imported from the Oort Cloud), minor ship
repairs, or just a place to take a break from the work. While the belter
community is relatively small, they are loyal to the locals and only go
elsewhere when the Desiverans can not provide the services they need.
-by DED