The Beyond Subsector P: Aslani

This is the last subsector of my version of The Beyond.
I have compiled all of these posts into a document that runs about 60,000 words. It needs editing and the completion of some articles that didn't fit well within the subsector release format.

My goal is to post that document as a PDF within a week or so, perhaps with some articles as previews prior to that. And to lobby for this to be a replacement for the unfortunate mess that is the current 'In Review" OTU version of the sector, based on the original Paranoia version.

Thanks for taking a look.

The Beyond Subsector P: Aslani

System Data

Hex  Name                 UWP       Remarks                  {Ix}   (Ex)    [Cx]   N B  Z PBG W  A    Stellar                

---- -------------------- --------- ------------------------ ------ ------- ------ - -- - --- -- ---- ----------

2531 Tal'ao               B644438-9 Ni Pa                    { 0 }  (E34-1) [242B] - -  - 412 13 AsWc F9 V M0 V              

2535 Tekhaao              A876834-C Ht Sa Ph Pa Pi           { 2 }  (877+4) [6A5C] - R  - 613 10 AsVc K3 V M1 V              

2539 Khteareaye           B412433-A Ni Ic Ht Sa              { 1 }  (A35+1) [4539] - -  - 321 13 AsMw M1 V M1 V              

2631 Akhwohyal            A211335-A Lo Ic Co                 { 1 }  (E21+1) [1486] - -  - 632 8  AsXX F2 V                   

2634 Tlasoistsen          D443372-8 Lo Po                    { -3 } (821-3) [117D] - -  - 611 10 AsSc K6 V                   

2636 Yehstalwye           B418454-A Ni Ic Fz                 { 1 }  (932-2) [152D] - -  - 713 12 AsXX M5 V                   

2637 Astraykte            C99A316-9 Lo Wa Ho                 { -1 } (921+5) [5214] - -  - 820 12 AsXX K3 V                   

2735 Eteasteah            C6676A5-9 Ag Ni Ri Ga              { 1 }  (555+1) [5735] - R  - 301 6  AsVc K2 V                   

2738 Eiwiytih             C422437-A Ni Po Co He              { 0 }  (B35-2) [245A] - -  - 512 9  AsWc F0 V                   

2739 Khyuryate            B874978-B Hi In Sa Tr              { 4 }  (C8G+1) [CD28] - -  - 922 16 AsSc M0 V M3 V              

2832 Hleakhawa            C534534-9 Ni Tz                    { -1 } (A45+1) [2468] - -  - 913 9  AsWc M0 V M7 V              

2835 Ktiskheao            C613555-9 Ni Ic                    { -1 } (944+1) [3418] - -  - 422 7  AsWc K7 V M3 V              

2840 Teavearl             CBA8452-A Ni Fl Ho                 { 0 }  (B32-2) [546D] - -  - 711 13 AsWc F9 V                   

2934 Khte Hryea           E100000-0 Ba Va                    { -3 } (300+1) [0000] - -  - 013 11 AsXX M4 V                   

2935 Taroeakh             C324595-B Ni Ho                    { 0 }  (D43-2) [557E] - -  - 522 11 AsVc K4 V M2 V              

2937 Layeaukhtyei         A975A75-D Hi In Ht Fz              { 5 }  (D9G+1) [9F1D] - RT - 713 15 AsT7 F3 V                   

2939 Taroekh              B574897-B Ph Pa Pi                 { 2 }  (87B-3) [AA2D] - T  - 920 7  AsT2 K1 V                   

3034 Khteiaueaou          A8449B6-C Hi In Ht                 { 5 }  (88C-5) [9E39] - RT - 522 8  AsTv K3 V M7 V              

3039 Etwaynah             CCC2217-C Lo Fl He Ht Ho           { 0 }  (B11-1) [4269] - -  - 311 12 AsXX M3 V                   

3131 Elkoikholaya         B564555-9 Ag Ni Pr                 { 1 }  (B47+1) [4679] - -  - 602 9  AsWc K8 V                   

3132 Flykalear            D655975-A Hi Ga Ho Tr              { 2 }  (788-2) [AB4B] - RT - 411 10 AsSc G4 V                   

3134 Hoisoiwatoua         EA79636-9 Ni                       { -2 } (H52-1) [7459] - -  - 332 13 AsVc G9 V                   

3136 Khteirir             C8C4522-A Ni Fl Bo                 { 0 }  (745-4) [257A] - -  - 900 6  AsMw K9 V                   

3138 Khehkhier            C758238-C Lo Ht                    { 0 }  (B11-4) [325E] - -  - 702 5  AsMw F3 V M1 V              

3232 Htoleakh             A675979-D Hi In Ht                 { 5 }  (B8D+4) [BE1H] - RT - 732 8  AsSc G4 V                   

3235 Shieahk              B8A6474-A Ni Fl                    { 1 }  (734+5) [6549] - -  - 810 7  AsSc M1 V                   

3236 Flyukhtai            E742000-0 Ba Po He Ho              { -3 } (B00+3) [0000] - -  - 020 7  AsXX G1 V M3 V              

3239 Grunthieuy           B6756A8-B Ag Ni Ho Tr              { 2 }  (953+1) [885C] - R  - 301 6  AsTv F6 V                   

The Aslani subsector consists of 28 worlds with a total population of 96.5 billion Aslan. Seventy billion of these reside on Layeaukhtyei and are members the Tlaukhu clan alliance of the Ikhtealyo, Tlerfearlyo, and Yehtahikh clans, or are members of their many vassals.

Aslani is the Imperium's name for the territory that the Aslan refer to as Eiaokheaftya. This long-settled space is the industrial heartland of the region, with the high-tech worlds of Layeaukhtyei and Htoleakh producing high quality goods for export across the Aslan colonies Behind the Claw. Settled for more than a millennium, it is known for sprawling cities, some long decayed, and intrigue and infighting, not the wide open vistas appealing to new generations of ihatei. On the worlds where wilderness still prevails, the hunting grounds are reserves of the powerful elite of Aslan society.

The Corellan League and other descendants of Sindalian refugees remember the region as the Oberon subsector, home to Oberon and Halifax, worlds overrun by the Aslan long before the Third Imperium's scouts arrived to enumerate those Aslan worlds which now account for the bulk of the population of the entire sector.

Worlds

Eteasteah (2735 C6676A5-9)

The garden world of Eteasteah bears the scars of wars long settled, at least in the minds of the Aslan. The world once known as Halifax is a clement world in orbit around an aging K2 V star. Nearly eight billion years old, the world's tectonic activity has mostly stopped, and mountains have eroded into hills and badlands. Rough terrain, jungles, and savannah dominate the landscape, though one whole continent is nothing but arid rock and sand. But every biome of Eteasteah teams with complex life, as billions of years of evolution has filled the world with an enormous number of complex fauna and flora, and some orders of life that are a little of both.

The jungles also hide ruins of towns and overgrown farmland, testaments to the eight centuries of Humaniti's occupation of the world they called Halifax. The Hkeakheayoeiue clan rules the world now and has let most of it fall fallow, returning to a natural state as the scars of a millennia of conflict fade away. The clan won the world by holding it against the Storm Knights over the course of many battles. Monuments to those ancient victories still stand and the Hkeakheayoeiue will remind everyone of the honor of their ancestors.

The Hkeakheayoeiue have not developed their world. It has a population barely a quarter of what it had as Halifax, but it is a wild land of open vistas that Aslan from all over the colonies Behind the Claw will visit, with permission of the clan, and hunt the fantastical wild creatures that are native to the world. It is not a world of great wealth or great cities, but it is the closest thing to an Aslan theme park that exists. As such, it is as much a rallying banner to the Aslan as it is to Humaniti.

Flykalear (3132 D655975-A)

Nine small continents form chains near the tropical zones of Flykalear, rendering most of the land surface a hot humid jungle of soaring triple canopy vegetation. Scattered cities blend into the teal and turquoise flora, housing many of the world's four billion inhabitants. The bulk of the planet remains wilderness, run by clans as hunting reserves, with restrictions on technology and overflights giving the illusion of a world of virgin jungle. Native and imported species provide sport for visitors, but entering often poorly delineated territory without permission may result in the hunters becoming the hunted.

The space above Flykalear is militarized, with its many clans, including the Syoisuis, maintaining bases in orbit. The main commercial Highport was destroyed by unknown parties using a nuclear detonation in 1097. A temporary surface port is available for visiting starships without access to the clan-affiliated bases, but the lack of an orbital cargo terminal has severely impacted trade, throwing the world into an economic recession.  

Htoleakh (3232 A675979-D)

Once known to Humaniti as Oberon, Htoleakh is the second most important world in the subsector, home to the best shipyards and wealthiest clans in The Beyond. Humaniti considers the world to be the tragic beginning to the thousand years of struggle against Aslan expansion.

Physical Characteristics

Htoleakh is a rugged world that once had considerable mineral wealth and a rich ecosystem. The world is divided into two hemispheres that Humaniti once called Oceania, and Firma. Firma covers half the world from pole to pole, growing more arid and inhospitable furthest from Oceania, except in the region of the Great Inland Sea. The Aslan have other terms for these regions, but Corellan and Storm Knight cartographers refuse to use them. Mining and industrial development have degraded the environment, leading to unhealthy levels of smog and dust over much of the inhabited region. The decentralized nature of a world ruled by more than twenty Aslan clans has precluded a concerted effort to clean up the environment.

History

The world once known as Oberon was first colonized -1733 by Sindalian dissidents in what is the earliest known settlement in The Beyond. The Sindalian emperors struck back at this colony, conquering it in -1597 in a campaign that led the fleeing dissidents to settle on Corella. Oberon lay fallow until a second group of dissidents, fleeing the wars of the dying empire, resettled the world in -1450. The new colony of Oberon flourished for eight centuries, occasionally flirting with membership in the Corellan League. But in the end, Oberon was too distant and too proud to become a full member of the League.

In -704 the first ihatei attempted to claim territory on Oberon. The Oberon Defense Force easily defeated the small incursion, as they defeated the next four attempts by Aslan to encroach on their world. But in -628, Oberon's sky filled with hundreds of ships from dozens of clans, and the ten million inhabitants of Oberon were given three choices: flee, submit, or die.

Oberon refused to submit. In the Battle of Oberon, three million died. For a time, they held off the Aslan, until the arrival of three capital ships armed with mass drivers. Oberon's cities burned and another two million died. When the flames turned to smoke, the Ikhtealyo clan repeated the choices, and this time, many accepted the choice to flee. But even with help from the Corellan League, there was no way to transport every human from the world. Some refused to leave and fled into the wilderness to begin a long hopeless struggle; most waited to be evacuated. None submitted, or at least that is the story that both Humaniti and Aslan tell. In the end, nearly two million people were evacuated from Oberon. The fate of the remaining three million is unclear.

The Aslan named the world Htoleakh after a predator that strikes from the sky, and set about fortifying the world for the counterattack they expected to come. But it never came, and so the Aslan continued their advance. They took Halifax in -604 and set off a thousand years of war.

During that conflict, Htoleakh became a logistic center, with mining and agriculture supporting shipyards that launched ships forward to fight the Storm Knights. Humaniti never launched a serious effort to take back the world and more and more Aslan followed to claim territory on the first world they had seized from Humaniti Behind the Claw.

Social Characteristics

Htoleakh is rich in symbology for the Aslan. It represents their first major conquest in the region and an industrial triumph. Pacts made in the years immediately following conquest have kept the planet heavily balkanized, with twenty-two of the original twenty-seven clans that helped conquer the world still claiming territory on the surface. The Pacts of Htoleakh prevent large-scale conflict from erupting on the world. Even limited war is prohibited, restricting conflict to duels and assassinations.

Mineral wealth and industry have made the world rich. The best shipyards in the subsector orbit Htoleakh. Shipwrights from dozens of clans and corporations produce everything from Hraye and Ihateisho scout ships to heavy cruiser capital ships. Orbital space around the planet is heavily patrolled and traffic is well regulated, ensuring that no conflict risks the shipyards themselves. The only combat permitted in any shipyard is a duel with dewclaws and any attempt by a clan to sabotage the docked or unfinished ships of another are met with a total ban of access to all the shipyards.

Layeaukhtyei (2937 A975A76-D)

More than 70 billion Aslan occupy Layeaukhtyei, a name that best translates as "Labyrinth Without End". The exact population is difficult to determine as hundreds of clans occupy the cavern-riddled planet.

Physical Characteristics

Layeaukhtyei is an unlikely world to be among the most populous Aslan world Behind the Claw. The young world orbits just beyond the habitable zone of its F3 V star. Millions of years ago, microorganisms pulled all of the carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere, causing global glaciation and a buildup of vast sheets of limestone across the massive supercontinent. The first settlers occupied the water-carved limestone caverns and grottos and the ice tunnels carved by volcanic activity. Their descendants, rather than strike out for new land among the stars, literally carved out new territories beneath the frozen surface.

History

First settled in -743, Layeaukhtyei was an early outpost of the Ikhtealyo, Tlerfearlyo, and Yehtahikh clans, who built an orbital starport to equip the ihatei and more aggressive clans who struck out further into the sector.

Over the centuries the population exploded, driven by natural increase and a flux of ihatei who discovered that the only weapon needed to gain territory was a pickaxe. Efforts to warm the planet are complicated by thousands of cubic kilometers of ice caverns claimed as territories and the adjacent limestone grottos that would flood if the ice melted. Instead, the clans spend significant resources to keep the surface temperature of the now heavily industrialized world far below freezing, and the building of vast undergrown territories continues.

Social Characteristics

The Triumvirate of the Ikhtealyo, Tlerfearlyo, and Yehtahikh clans govern Layeaukhtyei, but the world's population includes their vassals and vassals of their vassals, more than three hundred clans in all.

Many off-world Aslan consider digging for territory to be shameful, but how many among them can claim lands as vast as those that can be carved from half a billion cubic kilometers of ice and rock?

Khteiaueaou (3034 A8449B5-C)

Khteiaueaou is a rugged desert world whose landscape has been torn apart by open pit mines for the past 1500 years. Aging factories belch smoke into the air and the sky is filled with orange haze.

The Waisyauiai clan, a vassal of the Ikhtealyo, controls Khteiaueaou. The Waisyauiaiko is old, nearly 70, and his sons are all dead. While known for his cunning in his youth, the clan leader's mind and stamina have left him. He holds on to power by reputation alone, unable to influence the sons of his brothers who compete in ever more violent ways to gain control of the clan. When the old Aslan dies, Khteiaueaou will likely erupt into a full-scale war for succession.

Khyuryate (2739 B874978-B)

Khyuryate is a huge moon of a large gas giant orbiting a red dwarf star. Strong magnetic fields drive aurorae and ozone down onto the badland-scared surface of the ancient world, rendering much of the surface barely habitable. The gas giant-facing side of the moon is noticeably warmer than the far side, with temperatures approaching the boiling point of water during the long day and much of the world's water is tied up in the glacier-covered mountains of the far side. A day on Khyuryate last ninety-two hours as measured by the moon's orbit around the planet and a year is only twelve and a half local days long.

Settled in -789 as a refueling station and mustering point for early ihatei, Khyuryate was once the manufacturing center of the region, but a lack of investment over the centuries had led to a failing obsolete industrial base and a generally grim political environment. Clans and corporations squabble over the remains of once great cities instead of building something new. The ambitious among the clans have left for wider horizons around brighter stars.

Articles

Yurletyashi-class Frigate

The Yurletyashi is a 2400-ton frigate-class warship specifically designed to counter the Storm Knight's Scimitar-class frigate. Build with a higher level of technology than the Scimitar by the shipyards at Htoleakh, the Yurletyashi is slightly more expensive than a Scimitar, but faster, slightly better armored and equipped with weapons with a longer reach. With a particle gun bay as its main weapon and eight pulse laser turrets optimized for longer range, the ship, whose name means "swift spear hook" can strike hard at the Storm Knight's primary offensive unit from very long range and maintain that distance for the length of an engagement. However, long range sniping is not a common Aslan tactic, and actual combat between the Yurletyashi and the Scimitar has been little more than simulation and sales pitch. The ship has not been produced in large numbers and the main buyers have been the four Tlaukhu clans who are signatories of the Peace of Kaiear, so an actual fight between a Yurletyashi and a Scimitar would be a serious breach of the treaty.

Fyalraiea-class Pinnace

Named after a carnivorous sea bird that swoops and spears its prey, the Fyalraiea is a common pinnace produced by shipyards at Htoleakh and Layeaukhtyei. Designed for both boarding actions and troop deployments, the Fyalraiea is the standard auxiliary vessel for many Aslan warships and a common sight as a customs or police pinnace in many systems. Capable of 7g acceleration and armed with a pulse laser turret and wing-mounted missiles, the heavily armored Fyalraiea is capable of standing up to any heavy fighter class it would likely encounter in The Beyond while still able to deliver eight troops in boarding actions or as orbital jump troops. In a modified straight troop transport configuration, it can place 36 troops into a combat zone or deliver an armored personnel carrier to the fight.

Taleryushi-class Fighter

The Taleryushi or "swift cleaver" fighter is a 10-ton crescent-shaped fighter capable of 9g acceleration. Though technically a "light fighter", heavy armor and bulkheads greatly increase its survivability. It is available in two configurations: a two-seater with a dedicated gunner or sensor operator, or a single seater with an assault capsule ejection system. The two-seater outsells the single seat version by four to one, as fighter pilots are not inclined to admit that they might suffer defeat.