The Descent System A true outpost of the Empire, the Descent System is a crossroads between Slaver, Zealot, and Marcher space, with the Void pressing in on the other side. Owing to it's position and the light hand of Imperial justice here (courtesy of the “flexibility” of House Nazarian) Descent is a haven for smugglers, mercenaries, criminals, pirates, and lowlifes from across the Empire who often will find all the tools they need to hide from Imperial authorities...for the right price of course. However many visitors to the system are also of noble birth; attracted by the laxity of societal norms within the system. Descent is a place where almost anything goes, varied and spectacular are the various depravities of the visiting bluebloods, not to mention the delights both legal and illegal offered in Descent's markets.
A six planet system orbiting a small, yellow star Descent is a system rich in only three things; slaves, mines, and criminals. The nearest planet to the star, Descent I, is a hot, rocky, moonless world that is isolated from the rest of the system by The Conrad Belt a dense band of heavy-metal asteroids pocked with mines. Descent I houses only one institution; The Abattoir, one of the most notorious penal colonies in the entire Empire. Despite the light rein of the law in the system the criminals that are imprisoned here by House Nazarian are either desperately unlucky or so hardened in their criminal ways that even the Nazarian's felt compelled to incarcerate them.
Outside of The Conrad Belt the world of Descent II is the primary slave-breeding and agricultural world of the system. Visitation to this world is strictly forbidden. Its sole moon of Aral is home to the Lord Josef Military Base whilst Lady Elena Station is a minor shipyard used to build the light ships of House Nazarian (and often rumoured to be where pirate vessels can receive dockyard support, its location in the inner system making it much more difficult for prying eyes to observe).
Descent III is the garden-world where House Nazarian and their retainers have their sprawling private plantations, it it also used for agriculture and some mining activities though these are limited in order to preserve the beauty of the planet for its masters. It's moon of Caspian has been left pristine, to keep the view from the planet a perfect one.
Descent IV is the second largest planet, and economic centre, of the system. It is heavily urbanised with a great deal of the industrial wealth of the Nazarian's focused here. It is a filthy, squalid place that bustles with life, death and danger. Within its dingy urban sprawl almost any vice in existence can be purchased; as well as many of the secrets of the great and good. Many of the permanent residents of the system reside here. It's larger moon of Ararat is the capital of the system. The administrative centre, such as it is, is to be found here as well as the palace of the ruling Lord or Lady. It is here where most visitors to the system end up mingling with gamblers, information-mongers, drug-dealers, loansharks, pimps, and corsairs making the capital city of Tien one of the most dangerous, exhilarating places in the entire Empire. Ararat is famed for it's bordellos, casinos and coliseums and, as said before, anything goes in Descent. The smaller moon of Descnt IV, Nor, is home to the Lord Alexei Naval Shipyard and the Lord Viktor Military Base. This where the larger ships of the Nazarian fleet are constructed before being sent into orbit and the Nazarian's best troops are stationed respectively. Finally, the Lady Svetlana Naval Base, the home station for the Nazarian fleet, also orbits the planet.
Descent V is an uninhabitable gas giant surrounded by six moons. Mashu and Biwa are both as yet pristine, Yalu and Gobi are both mined out and now abandoned whilst Ryukyu boasts one of the newer mines in the system. The final moon, Akan, is mined but is also fairly heavily settled and is home to much of the light industry in the system. Descent VI is the final planet of the system and boasts the smaller of the two slave-breeding facilities. Descent VI is also where the slave markets are to be found, making it a place frequently visited by outsiders. Its moon, Baikal, hosts the Lord Georg Military Base, which also has a destroyer squadron permanently attached to it. This base often serves as the checkpoint for visitors to Descent. Finally, surrounding the system is the massive Oleg Belt. A second asteroid belt that is extensively mined.
House Nazarian Desendants of the mercenaries, freebooters, and corsairs who subdued the frontier systems of the old Reptile Empire (the wealthier core worlds being subdued by the regular forces of the nobility) House Nazarian is noble in name if not in character. The Nazarian's have long held sway over their system through ruthless violence, intimidation, bribery, and smart diplomacy. And also through taking a cut of every single activity, legal or otherwise, that takes place within their writ. The family has long valued wealth above all else and has never played too large a role in the central government, voting when they need to in the Commonwealth but seldom looking to accrue much in the way of political capital. Their interests will generally always align with those of the other Slaver Lords however they are not above voting with other parties, even (occasionally) the hated Merchants, should they deem it worth their while.
Even amongst Slavers they are notorious for the ferocity with which their slaves are kept under control, the reptiles are even forbidden the knowledge of time. Their overseers monitor this for them, and their routines and supervisors are changed at random; routine is the mother of insurrection or so House Nazarian believes. Their are rumours, but only rumours that House Nazarian has other, forbidden, chattel at their disposal but the Descent system is far from the Imperial Core and rumours is all they remain. This is not the only dark business that the rumours speak of but the Nazarian's are nothing if not well versed in covering their tracks...and silencing any voices that may dissent.
Current members and retainers Lady Ekaterina Nazarian
Age: 62
Skills (12 points)
Administrator: 2
Spymaster: 3
Counterspy: 3
Assassin: 2
Charisma: 2
The dangerous lady of Descent is as vicious, ruthless, and fearsome as any noble in the Empire. Willing to go to any lengths as long as she can secure wealth for her House Lady Ekaterina is corpulent, some might even say obese...but never within her hearing. Behind the towering rages, cruelty, and venality however there is a calculating mind. Nazarian down to her bones, she cares little for the laws and norms of the empire if they interfere with business. She has a network of agents and assassins that she is never shy of using, but always keep her well informed.
Marshall Lord Consort Sergei Nazarian
Age: 66
Skills (12 points).
Mercenary Contractor +4
General +4
Duellist +2
Assassin +2
The right hand of his wife for the entirety of the forty years of their marriage. Sergei has always provided the muscle where Ekaterina was the brains. An accomplished General he has spilled more than his fair share of blood for his adopted House, and is a notably vicious, rather than elegant, fighter. He believes in victory first and foremost no matter how it is achieved. He heads the Nazarian army as Marshall.
Admiral Sir William Truscott.
Age: 50
Skills (10 points).
Admiral: 4 points.
Guerilla warfare expert: 4 points.
Duellist: 2 points.
A vassal of House Nazarian who serves as Admiral of the navy, and a commander of great flair and daring. Truscott's accent betrays him as a Coreworlder by birth and those with memory enough swear he looks remarkably similar to notorious pirate Captain Jacob Stein. However this man was killed when apprehended by Marcher security forces. Sir William is a noted gambler, drinker and carouser and yet when it is time for combat his men would not serve under another man.
Sir Stefan Nazarian.
Age: 42
Skills (8 points)
Administration +4
Duels +4
Heir to the Descent system and a cold, emotionless killer. Stefan places no value on life, money is everything to him. Unlike his mother however, Stefan sees more than just wealth in his Houses' future.
Lady Katherine Nazarian
Age: 42
Stefan's wife.
Sir Steven Nazarian
Age: 18
Stefan's son.
Lady Viktoria Nazarian
Age 32.
Stefan's cousin.
Name : Isaac Hanson
Age : 35
Rank : Condottieri
Skills :
+3 Charisma
+2 Counter-spy
+1 Spying
Born in the underworld of Seiankyou in the Osmo system, Hanson had to work his way up, primarily through serving as a handler for agents of some of the criminal lords of Lowtown and a messenger between them and the more corrupt officials of the area. A comfortable position with decent pay, plus not having to risk his person unlike the agents he served as the supervisor to, if it wasn't for a single agent being caught and leaking information to a Inspector of the Heike Police, one Ichiro Zenigata, who would lead a force of no less than 200 policemen into the slums to arrest Hanson's boss and his associates. Escaping on a smuggler's ship leaving at the time, Hanson made his way to Descent where he was employed by the Nazarians.
Improvements N/A
Trade Trade good: Slaves Income +15% worth 30,000 Crowns.
Trade lane I: House Devrient of Algol. Consumer Goods +10% income worth 25,000 Crowns.
Trade lane II: House Gin-Amon of Vici. Slaves +15% income worth 30,000 Crowns.
Regional bonus ‘Farworlds’ – The outer reaches of the old Reptile Empire, dubbed the ‘farworlds’ by that species, rise in a slope above the galactic plane away from the homeworlds in a sparsely populated section of the galaxy. As a result of the openness, ships entering the system struggle to do so without being easily spotted. The Systems are Zerman, Yensu, Lylat, Colic, Ailoth, Crim, Melfych, Kappa, Descent, Luyten, Gertha and Jalta. +4 to detection rolls for the System owners. +6 Slave Legions for the System owners.
Army Very Small Levy (500 points) (system bonus 6 slave legions)
Consisting of:
1st Armoured Legion - Musters at: Lord Georg Military Base, Baikal.
2nd Armoured Legion - Musters at: Lord Viktor Military Base, Nor.
3rd Armoured Legion - Musters at: Lord Viktor Military Base, Nor.
4th Armoured Legion - Musters at: Lord Viktor Military Base, Nor.
5th Infantry Legion - Musters at: Lord Josef Military Base, Aral.
6th Infantry Legion - Lord Georg Military Base, Baikal.
7th Infantry Legion - Lord Viktor Military Base, Nor.
8th Infantry Legion - Lord Gerorg Military Base, Baikal.
Slave Legion Number 1- Musters at: Lord Georg Military Base, Baikal.
Slave Legion Number 2 - Musters at: Lord Josef Military Base, Aral.
Slave Legion Number 3 - Musters at: Lord Josef Military Base, Aral.
Slave Legion Number 4 - Musters at: Lord Josef Military Base, Aral.
Slave Legion Number 5 - Musters at:Lord Josef Military Base, Aral.
Slave Legion Number 6 - Musters at: Lord Josef Military Base, Aral.
Navy Very Small Levy (500 points)
Consisting of -
1 Battleship (ISS Punishment) - Based at: Lady Svetlana Naval Base.
2 Battlecruisers (ISS Pain and ISS Pleasure) - Based at: Lady Svetlana Naval Base.
1st - 4th Transport squadrons - Based at: Lady Svetlana Naval Base.
1st Destroyer squadron - Based at: Lord Georg Military Base.
2nd - 6th Destroyer Squadrons - Based at: Lady Svetlana Naval Base.
1st - 6th Light Cruiser Squadrons - Based at: Lady Svetlana Naval Base.