GM:Hkyosali

System Overview

Hkyosali (Dark Nebula 2132) is an unimportant but inhabited Aslan agricultural system lying on the expedition's route out of Hierate space.

Allegiance: Aslan Hierate; vassal clan dominates
Primary: G6 V
UWP: E55669B-6
Population: 6,000,000
Tech Level: 6
Trade Codes: Agricultural, Non-Industrial, Hot
Travel Zone: Amber
Gas Giants: 2
Other Worlds: 9

The system has little interstellar infrastructure and no useful repair base for Lysander. Its principal campaign purpose is as a rendezvous and refueling point.

Campaign Function

Assuming Lysander's emergency jump from Ehairiwa succeeds, Hkyosali is the rendezvous point with:

Melancthe
Falael

Melancthe and Falael have already refueled while waiting.

Lysander arrives carrying the consequences of the Ehairiwa escape:

Hull: 8 remaining
Jump drive functional but damaged
Jump drive currently operating at DM-2
Other combat damage as established during the Ehairiwa battle
Only repairs possible during jump have been attempted

The immediate question is not whether Hkyosali can repair Lysander.

It cannot.

The question is whether Lysander is safe enough to jump again.

Arrival

The arrival of Lysander should initially be treated as uncertain.

Melancthe and Falael have been waiting for a ship that may never emerge.

When Lysander finally precipitates out of jump, its transponder identifies it before visual inspection reveals the extent of the damage.

The reunion should feel like relief rather than another encounter.

The ship made it.

Barely.

Refueling

Hkyosali has no useful starport facilities for the expedition, but it does have two gas giants.

Melancthe and Falael are already fueled.

Lysander must refuel before continuing.

The expedition should prefer wilderness refueling rather than unnecessary contact with the mainworld.

Damage Assessment

Once the three ships are together, the expedition has time for a serious engineering assessment of Lysander.

Questions for the engineers:

What damage was successfully repaired during jump?
What damage can be repaired using parts carried by Melancthe and Falael?
Can the Jump Drive DM-2 be reduced?
Which repairs require an actual shipyard?
Is another jump prudent?

This is an excellent place for Melancthe's much greater stores, workshops, crew and equipment to matter.

Route Forward

The expedition's ultimate destination is Treege, where the Nagid Orev trail continues.

However, Melancthe and Falael have been using their time productively.

At minimum, they have located a promising comet/mass pairing along the route toward Jingleswelt.

This is the first concrete success in the attempt to create a usable intermediate jump point toward Treege.

Whether the expedition proceeds directly toward Treege using the discovered mass, or visits Jingleswelt first, depends heavily upon the condition of Lysander.

GM:Jingleswelt

System Overview

Jingleswelt (Dark Nebula 2732) is a major Solomani industrial fortress world and subsector capital.

Allegiance: Solomani Confederation
Subsector: Staai
Primary: M1 V
UWP: B574AB8-D
Population: 30 billion
Tech Level: 13
Starport: B
Trade Codes: High Population, Industrial, Subsector Capital
Travel Zone: Green
Gas Giants: 4
Other Worlds: 10
Bases: Naval Base, Military Base

Jingleswelt is one of the most important systems in the region: heavily industrialized, heavily defended, and accustomed to viewing nearby Aslan territory through a military lens.

Campaign Function

Jingleswelt is an optional but extremely attractive repair stop before the expedition continues to Treege.

Most importantly, its Class B starport has the facilities required for extensive spacecraft repairs.

For Lysander, after the Ehairiwa battle, that is enormously attractive.

The problem is that Jingleswelt is not an anonymous frontier port.

It is a heavily militarized Solomani fortress system with approximately 30 billion inhabitants, a naval base, a military base, and extensive system traffic control.

Three unusual ships arriving together from the direction of Aslan space are likely to be noticed.

The Decision

The crew has a genuine choice.

Bypass Jingleswelt

Advantages:

Avoid Solomani military attention.
Preserve operational secrecy.
Continue toward Treege immediately.

Disadvantages:

Lysander remains badly damaged.
Jump Drive remains compromised unless field repairs succeed.
Further damage could become catastrophic.

Enter Jingleswelt

Advantages:

Proper TL13 repair facilities.
Class B shipyard.
Fuel, supplies and replacement components readily available.
Lysander can potentially be restored to full operational condition.

Disadvantages:

Identification.
Questions.
Inspection.
Records.
A fortress system may take considerable interest in what these ships have been doing in Aslan space.

Character of Jingleswelt

Jingleswelt began as a refuge during the Human-Aslan border conflicts and evolved into a fortress world.

Its governments became increasingly focused upon planetary defense.

The society remains heavily militarized, and the commander-in-chief of the Home Forces serves as head of state.

This is not a paranoid backwater.

It is a rich, technologically advanced, enormously populated military-industrial society which has been thinking about the Aslan threat for centuries.

At the same time, Jingleswelt is an important cross-border commercial center. Relations with neighboring Aslan clans are generally cool but polite.

The expedition therefore does not automatically look like an enemy.

It does, however, look interesting.

System Entry

The M1 V primary is dim and red.

Jingleswelt's enormous industrial civilization becomes apparent long before the mainworld itself is visible.

Traffic control is professional, busy and unmistakably military-influenced.

The system contains four gas giants, extensive commercial traffic, naval activity, and a constant flow of industrial shipping.

After Hkyosali, the difference is dramatic.

This is civilization again.

For the crew of battered Lysander, the most beautiful thing in the system may simply be the traffic-control listing:

CLASS B STARPORT — SHIPYARD AND REPAIR SERVICES AVAILABLE

Immediate GM Question

If the expedition stops here, determine:

How much of Lysander's damage can be repaired?
How long repairs take.
What the repairs cost.
How closely Solomani authorities examine the ship.
Whether its sophisticated TL15 systems attract attention.
What story Captain Ferrari intends to tell about where the expedition has been.

Forward Route

Jingleswelt is not the expedition's objective.

Treege is.

Treege is where the Nagid Orev trail resumes.

The comet/mass pairing discovered by Melancthe and Falael is intended to make that next stage possible.

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