The Solaris System, Principality of the Altaine
The Solaris system is dominated by the dying star it is formed around - the red giant Helios. This is orbited by the industrial capital Astraeus, the frozen exoplanet Pallas and the large gas giant Perses. The seat of the Principality and centre of Solaris' government is located on one of Perses' moons, an artificial garden environ known as Hecate. Solaris is almost exclusively focused on industry and commerce, with its resources being dedicated to mining, manufacturing and mass haulage. As a result, the sector has gained a reputation as a system to make your fortune, but an unpleasant place to settle down and live. The majority of the small population is of the serf classes, with a sizable and affluent merchant caste acting in the stead of an established aristocratic order. Because of the vast disparity of wealth between the landed and peasant classes, a low personal wealth per capita provides a small tax base for their feudal lords.
The Altaine are content to continue with policies of lax taxage, as the majority of their own profits are derived instead from the fruits of their serfs' labour: high end electronic goods. The production and export of this commodity is controlled almost exclusively by the monopolistic family conglomerate, Altaine Industries. It is said that the only way to advance in the Solaris system - short of being born an Altaine - is to climb the corporate hierarchy, which is entangled to the point of inseparability with the sector's governmental administration. Due to the corporation's capitalistic - if morally bankrupt - methodology, this can see men and women of any class rising to high appointment, providing they have the aptitude and a ruthless outlook. The relationship between the House and the corporation is a confusing one, leading many other Merchants to deridingly mock the situation as the 'tail wagging the dog'.
Solaris is renown galaxy-wide for producing some of the most reliable and effective sensor, surveillance and broadcast technologies on the market. It is perhaps unsurprising in that case that the Altaine's second largest enterprise is the collation, manipulation and marketing of information. This has earned them the ire of their neighbours on many occasions, with allegations of espionage hanging from many lips. Due to their interest in affairs other than their own, the Altaine have always been careful to nurture industries that may compliment their agendas. Consequently the news media have been granted generous privileges within the system, and enticing tax breaks - especially in comparison to the bordering Core Territories. Several prestigious and popular media outlets are headquartered within the region, with some questioning whether they are truly impartial - or actually acting on behalf of Altaine patrons.
Household
Lord Eligio Altaine IX
Age: 55 (Born 10,083 SE)
Titles/Rank: System Lord of the Empire, High Prince of Solaris, Duke-Director of Altaine Industries, Patrician of the Altaine, Grand Admiral of the Mercantile Fleets.
Inventory/Retinue: Jason Kennedy (Condotierri).
Traits: +4 Administrator, +4 Spy, +1 Mercenary Contractor, +1 Counterspy.
Marital Status: Adelaide Conti (59, F).
Children: Clemente Sabbatini (34, F); Fiorenzo Altaine (31, M); Carla Milani (27, F); Lionella Altaine (22, F); Medardo Altaine (22, M).
Bio: Lord Eligio Altaine is the 9th of his line to bear that name, in honour of their earliest ancestor and House founder. Much like his distant grandfather, Eligio has come to embody many of the traits that now symbolise the Altaine: base cunning, an opportunistic streak that could swallow a Titan and the brutal business acumen required to force the family business ever higher. The Lords of Solaris also have a notorious reputation for selling information as well as electronics, a fact that Eligio has been sure to capitalise on throughout his reign. While Solaris' planets are largely a polluted ecological disaster, Eligio is intent on elevating his own and the Altaine's status to the equal of any of his lordly peers. This goal looks to be impeded by the Altaine's antagonistic rivalry with their ancient and powerful ancestors, the Altair.
Lady Adelaide Altaine IX
Retainers Jason Kennedy
Age: 50
Known alias': Roger Jackson, Raven, Peter Chetwynd
Title/Rank: Condotierri, Squire of the Order of Managers (Altaine Industries).
Traits: +2 Assassin, +2 Duels, +2 Charisma, +2 Spy.
Wage: 5% commission on trade tariffs.
Bio: A younger son of a minor merchant House, Kennedy has always had to rely on his wiles to make his way in the world. After a number of years spent moving through the Merchant systems serving as a ships officer, a freelance trader known as Roger Jackson and even a freelance assassin known as Raven he eventually made his way to the Solaris System where he moved up through the ranks of the Altaine corporate machine under the name Peter Chetwynd. Ruthless, charming, and intelligent he has made himself a useful man to know.
Age: 59 (Born 10,079 SE)
Titles/Rank: High Princess of Solaris, Duchess-Director of Altaine Industries, Matriarch of the Altaine.
Possessions: None
Traits: +4 Counterspy, +3 Administrator, +3 Charisma.
Marital Status: Eligio Altaine IX (53, M).
Children: Clemente Sabbatini (32, F); Fiorenzo Altaine (29, M); Carla Milani (25, F); Lionella Altaine (20, F); Medardo Altaine (20, M).
Bio: Lady Adelaide was born on the moon Hectate to the wealthy Conti merchant cartel. As one of the most powerful factions within Altaine Industries, they are also one of the most dangerous due to their boundless ambition. This has made them the perfect partners for the Altaine themselves, with the peak of the two families relations being the marriage of Adelaide to the heir-apparent, Eligio IX. Adelaide has proven to be a shrewd negotiator, and a lifetime within the Altaine, Conti and AI have given her an almost supernatural ability to detect, manipulate and destroy hostile conspiracies.
Diplomacy OOC: For player reference only. Not to be explicitly used IC.
House Varsens - Durdane. Very friendly.
Relations: Trade Pact.
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House Medici - Regulus. Friendly.
Relations: Trade Pact.
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House Devriendt - Algol. Friendly.
Relations: Trade Pact.
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House Libra - Mizar. Neutral.
Relations: Conducting investigation into bombing attack.
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House Altair - Castor. Very unfriendly.
Relations: Ancient enmity pertaining to Altaine genealogy.
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High Lords of Gumpalt - Gumpalt. Hostile.
Relations: Embargo of contracts, searching of all traffic jumping from the system.
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Facilities Civil Facilities:
- Trade hub.
- Surveillance State.
- Business and Industrial Zone.
- Business and Industrial Zone.
- Business and Industrial Zone. [Completed: 14/05/14]
Military Facilities:
- Dedicated Military Shipyard. [Completed: 14/05/14]
- Dedicated Military Shipyard. [Completed: 14/05/14]
- Orbital Defence Platform. [Completed: 14/05/14]
- Orbital Defence Platform. [Completed: 14/05/14]
- Military Sensor Array. [Completed: 14/05/14]
Trade Export commodity: Electronics. +1 to detection and spy rolls done by you, -1 done against you. +45,000
Trade Route 1: Algol, Consumer Goods. +10% income. +25,000
Trade Route 2: Regulus, Super Heavy Machinery. +250 space levy. +25,000
Trade Route 3: Durdane, Heavy Arms. +250 space levy. +25,000
Trade Route 4: [Requires trade hub]
Military
Levy Forces
Small Fleet - 1,250 / 1,250 points (+500).
- x2 Battleship: 200 points.
The AFV Acquisition is of relatively new construction and saw combat in the Marches during the Insectoid Invasions. Then under Technocrat command, the ship gave an admirable account of itself but suffered severe enough damage to warrant being decommissioned. Lord Eligio IX intervened to prevent this, seeing an opportunity to acquire the vessel at scrap value. An excellent buyout price was agreed upon, with the hulk being refit in the Southern Passage's military shipyards. The ship's jump engines have never functioned optimally since, relegating it to the role of fleet commander of the Solaris System Defence Fleet. Currently, the Acquisitionfalls under the administration of the High Prince of Solaris, with Altaine Industrial taking stewardship in the event of an interregnum between his death and a heir's succession. To be named Admiral of either of the fleet battleships is considered to be a great honour.
The AFV Patriarch was commissioned early in 10,146 SE following that year's bombing and fleet mobilisations. Recently completed, the Patriarch represents the first battleship to be built in-house by Altaine Industries in eight generations. Spearheading recent reforms to the Solarian System Defence Fleet, many see the Patriarch as a sign of increasing militarism within the Altaine. Of further concern to many outside observers is the fact that most of the vessel's live fire trials have been conducted against the ruined cities of Pallas, simulating orbital bombardment. Pointed questions have already been raised as to why this capability would be required in a SSDF capital ship. Currently, the Patriarch falls under the administration of the Duke-Director of Altaine Industries, with the Director of Security taking stewardship in the event of the post being vacant. To be named Admiral of either of the fleet battleships is considered to be a great honour.
- x6 Heavy Cruiser: 300 points.
The Heavy Cruisers of the SSDF act as direct support vessels for the two fleet battleships, theoretically screening them from enemy fire and complementing their heavier firepower. The lower mass to engine ratio of this ship class allows them to mobilise and respond to events throughout Solaris faster, often intercepting threats in a matter of days instead of weeks. Their more economical value also has the added benefit of enabling their shrewdly calculating commanders to commit them to a fight with a clearer conscience.
- x40 Light Cruiser Squadrons: 600 points.
Flotillas of Light Cruisers are stationed around the system, and act as both a corporate security force and SDFF patrol ship. Acting as a rapid response force to pirate raids or alleged suspicious activity, these vessels are usually the first on the scene. In defensive fleet engagements, they aim to dispatch enemy screen vessels before moving in to support allied capital vessels in harassing enemy armour. The Altaine favour Light Cruisers, considering them to be the most cost effective solution to all naval policing duties.
- x4 Destroyer Squadrons: 100 points.
A small contingent of Destroyer torpedo ships are held in reserve around the core territories of the Solaris system. Fragile but boasting powerful bomber torpedoes, they are deployed only during the direst of pirate raids or when unauthorised capital ships have breached Altaine sovereign space.
- x10 Transport Squadrons: 50 points.
The wealth of the Solaris system has always been build on the back of its commercial enterprises. Given the enormous resources available to Altaine Industries and House Altaine, it was considered most cost effective to provide the SSDF with their own merchant navy for the shipping of troops and war materials. In peace-time, a number of these vessels may be loaned back to the company's commercial departments.
Small Army: 750/750 points.
- x10 Armoured Legions: 750 points.
The terrestrial forces of the SSDF are arranged into 10 corps, ranging from I to X. The men and women who comprise this number are recruited from across Planet Astraeus and largely consist of common serfs, with a merchant cartel officer class. The Army itself is the single largest wing of Altaine Industries' security division, being responsible for policing on all Altaine planets. The Altaine have invested heavily to ensure their own levies meet this prestigious galactic standard for heavy elite formations. Understanding that the Solaris system lives and dies by its industrial output, the SSDF territorial legions are primarily tasked with policing the population and brutally crushing unrest. House Altaine currently maintains a reservist force of 500,000 troops.
Standing Forces None at present.
Altaine History
Southern Merchant Lord
Solaris System
House Altaine is one of the youngest noble Houses within the Empire, tracing its roots back to the early centuries of the 9th Stellar Era. Genealogical records state that the founding scion of House Altaine was Eligio Altair, born in 9,126 to Vtitorio Altair, Lord of his House and castellan of the fortified Castor system. As the twelfth in line of succession, Eligio held little chance of inheriting any territory of note and lacked influence within the structure of the aristocracy. Due to this, he invested his personal funds in the formation of a mercantile operation, coming to be known as Eligio Enterprises (EE). This would expand into massfreight haulage and manufacturing, creating and exporting the system’s famed electronic goods. Through his family name, links to the aristocracy and old money, he was able to brutally subdue much of his immediate competition, becoming highly wealthy in a matter of years.
The situation came to a head in 9,153 shortly after the outbreak of the Fifth Titan War. A number of the southern Merchant Lords had declared their secession from the Empire in order to form an autonomous kingdom, free from Imperial taxation. In this time of difficulty the Altair found themselves facing stagnating trade profits due to market uncertainty, and ballooning costs due to the levying of warships. EE came under renewed scrutiny as an unacceptable competitor to the family’s own ancient nationalised institutions. Eligio was given the order to dissolve the company and merge it into the family conglomerate. In return he would receive financial restitution and a position as a junior director in the family court. Outraged by what he considered to be a betrayal and family interference, the request was refused. In response Lord Vittorio suspended all contracts with EE and banned his son from Court as a sanction, marking the beginning of the severe deterioration of their relationship.
The following year it would be the Altair that led the Old Lords in holding the line against the southern Free Companies at Mizar, before spearheading charge on the Titan shipyards of Solaris. After the rebellion was put down, the Great Cull ensured that the southern traitor lords and their allies were swiftly executed, bringing the region to heel. This left a power vacuum in the region, as in some cases entire dynasties had been exterminated. Rather than risk an uneasy peace directly causing a second civil war, the conquered systems were distributed by Imperial appointment. Looking favourably on the Altair in particular, the Emperor sought to reward them for their services by establishing one of their cadets as the feudal lord of Solaris. At this point chronicles differ, with the Altair claiming Eligio bribed the ministers of the Imperial Council, and the Altaine stating he convinced the Emperor of his suitability to manage an industrialised, commercial system using his vast corporate success as a demonstrable example.
Whatever the rationale that led to the decision, Eligio was named Lord of Solaris in 9,159, aged 33 - one of the youngest men to be appointed as a System Lord in recent history. Furious at his son’s duplicity, Lord Vtitorio declared Eligio dead to the Altair and had his name stricken from all official records. The remaining assets belonging to EE within Castor that had not already been withdrawn or sold were seized and confiscated. Unfazed, Eligio proceeded to take a new name and heraldry, his owl on a purple field providing a counterpoint to the swooping eagle of his parent House: what they had won through conquest, he had seized through cunning. This formally created the Altaine House following his pilgrimage to Terra in 9,160, personally swearing the fealty of his House and its descendants in perpetuity to the Emperor.
After assuming lordship of Solaris, Eligio set to rebuilding his corporate empire by using his feudal prerogatives to snatch control of the vast majority of the system’s industry. Using the expertise and trade secrets reaped during his management of EE, he set to reconfiguring the output of Solaris’ factories to producing high end electronics. Under the stewardship of his succeeding sons and daughters his ambition would come to pass, with a resurgent EE being rebranded as Altaine Industries. Facing none of the ecological qualms that constrict the Old Lords' garden worlds, Solaris historically sought to optimise its industrial output above all else - this has allowed it to overtake Castor as a centre of trade lanes for Electronics. This fact has only served to worsen the bitter enmity between the Altair and Altaine that has endured for almost 1,000 years.
Solaris' rampant industrialisation and specialisation in high end electronic goods have served to complement the Altaine’s style of rule: the unalienable law that knowledge is power. Altaine surveillance, scanning and broadcast technology is considered to be second to none, and a number of popular and prominent media outlets are also headquartered in the system - some say under the patronage of its lords. Over the centuries, Altaine Industries has also been considerably reformed, transitioning from a feudal market invader, to a free market capitalist powerhouse. The only route to power in the Solaris system (besides being born an Altaine) is to scale AI's corporate hierarchy. Due to this, many of the system's powerful merchant cartel families operate almost exclusively within its structure.
System Information
The vast majority of the system's 580 million inhabitants reside on the planet, with most generally being employed within the mining, refining or manufacturing sectors. Within Astraeus' society (and that of Solaris as a whole), wealth disparity and inequality is extreme. The largest portion of the population consists of a serf class which is employed as menial labour in the factories and pits. Riding atop of this peasant class is a tier of overseers drawn from the minor merchant cartels. The most powerful individuals on Astraeus, subordinate only to the Altaine themselves, are the largest merchant families - usually generational employees of Altaine Industrial's management. These figures have almost entirely supplanted the traditional noble aristocracy within the system, a situation the Altaine largely enjoy as another departure from the stifling arrogance of the Core Systems.
Due to Altaine Industrial's almost carte blanche charter to exploit the planet for profit and gain, a situation has developed over the centuries that can only be described as an ecological nightmare. While the atmosphere is largely tolerable for humans, breathing apparatus is advised due to the rampant pollution posing a hazard to public health. The standard of living for the poor is generally bad, although moderate wages attract a fairly consistent stream of the desperate and the naive. In times where the working population is waning, the Altaine are not above using penal labour as a part of 'rehabilitation schemes' in order to bolster output of the staple commodity of Electronics.
Astraeus is entirely barren with no native lifeforms. It is entirely dependent on external imports of staple crops for sustenance, largely from . Early attempts at agriculture were met with failure due to the poor soil quality across much of the surface. Prior to the Fifth Titan War, the Great Purge of traitorous elements and the rise of the Altaine, efforts were being made to terraform the planet to rectify this shortfall. Those endeavours have likely been set back for centuries, if not permanently, by the current ecology.
Planet Pallas: Pallas is a frozen rock that follows an eccentric orbit around the far reaches of the solar system. It possesses no atmosphere of its own, and a very minor gravitational field and magnetosphere. Pallas does have several extremely mineral rich lodes of heavy metals, but they are deep beneath the surface, making extraction costs prohibitive. Scientists currently hypothesize that Pallas may once have been a part of a linked binary system with Planet Perses' moon Hectate - during a particularly close orbital period, it is speculated that there may have been a critical gravitational event, resulting in Pallas being ejected from its orbital anchor and losing its twin to the gas giant.
Colonies had existed on the planet up until 9,154 SE, when they were destroyed in the Fifth Titan War. Precisely due to its isolation, the planetoid had been operated throughout the War as restricted space, containing a military shipyard and staging area. The most notable installation including the notorious Solaris Titan Shipyard itself. During the pivitol Battle for Solaris, a combined Old Lord fleet led by House Altair entered a pitched engagement against the rebel Southern Lords in Pallas' orbit. The newly completed Titan Maelstrom was brought online in time for this battle, and wrecked a heavy toll on its attackers before eventually being overcome.
The great warship's corpse can still be found where it crashed on the planet's surface, destroying the military colony it had been in orbit above. Any remaining settlements were razed from orbit shortly after, immolating all human life. In the present day, this grizzly monument to past treachery offers a vital lifeline to those seeking to scrape a living outside the monolithic Altaine Industrial corporate complex. A thriving, if dangerous, cottage industry exists, salvaging metal and other components from the graveyard of that ancient battlefield. Officially this pilfering is condemned by the Altaine as unlicensed prospecting, but in reality they are happy to purchase any recovered materials of sufficient quality.
Planet Perses: Perses is the largest solar body within the system, being almost 110 times larger than Planet Astraeus. The planet's vast gravity well had trapped a number of other smaller celestial bodies, resulting in a large number of natural satellites.
The largest among these is the moon Hectate, believed to have once been a binary system with the Planet Pallas. Several of these moons have small mineral extraction operations located on them, but the vast majority are of no real value at all. Some useful gasses can be recovered from Perses' atmosphere, but the escape velocity from the gravity well makes the harvesting of Helium 3 on an industrial scale impractical. It is thought that the giant's vibrant purple colouring was the inspiration behind Eligio Altaine I's field colouration on his personal heraldry.
The majority of the SSDF fleet anchor near Perses, with the flagship AFV Acquisition rarely straying far. For the majority of the system's visitors, Perses is little more than another triangulation point on their way to the next hyperdrive jump coordinate.
Hectate: Hectate is the largest of all of Perses' moons, large enough to have an independent gravitational field of its own - roughly three quarters of the Terran norm. Hectate is tidally locked to Perses, with a single orbit of the gas giant taking a total of 17 standard Terran days. Hectate's atmosphere is negligible, and requires a vacuum protection suit to survive. Despite this, Hectate has been developed into the de facto capital of the Solaris system.
Upon the removal of the traitor lords following the Fifth Titan War, one of the assets the Altaine seized within the system was a grand royal palace constructed into the craggy cliffs of Hectate. The palace was designed to insulate the ruling class from the commoners on Astraeus, and situated to overlook the stunning purple vistas of Perses. The palace would fall into neglect under the rule of Eligio I, but would be refurbished and extended by his son, Berardo. Over the intervening centuries the palace has been extended into a city in its own right, with vast sprawling pleasure gardens being planted under massive domes. It is thought that around a quarter of the satellite's landmass has been paraterraformed in this manner.
To reside on Hectate is the supreme goal of most of the merchant cartels still stuck on Astraeus; the moon is synonymous with luxury, prestige and power. Somewhat due to this, the Altaine have offered various media institutions preferential office space on the moon, with generous tax breaks for settling there. This ensures the family are on good terms with the some of the biggest news outlets in the galaxy, with several even taking wages from Altaine patrons.
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Originally Posted by Oznerol
