Stars Without Number

The year is 3200, centuries after the collapse of human civilization across the stars in an event still known only as 'The Scream' !ne ni"ht, almost all psychics in #nown Space $ie$, an$ interstellar tra$e an$ civilization collapse$ as the core $escen$e$ into silence an$ anarchy % few worl$s stru""le$ to hol$ on to what little they ha$& for every one where humanity maintaine$ a tenuous "rip, ten $ie$ 'ventually, slowly, thin"s be"an to improve The few $rive( capable ships that remaine$ operate$ a mar"inal tra$e network, an$ the secrets of technolo"y were restore$ To$ay, in the Sar"asso )luster, interstellar travel is "ra$ually returnin" Secrets which have been the *ealous property of "overnments an$ billionaires have been transforme$ overni"ht by a spectacular $iscovery, a cache of spike $rives left over from the $ays of the Terran +an$ate, enou"h to "ive the )orporate Warlor$s of ,olkhov the opportunity to reach out across the stars, an$ unleash a wave of in$epen$ent scouts an$ tra$ers Without -uestion, the )luster is about to be transforme$, but what its final form mi"ht be, no(one can say ,olkhov ./opulation0 12,000,0003 !ne of the first worl$s settle$ by humanity as far back as the 23 r$ century, ,olkhov was claime$ by a "roup of aerospace companies from the 4ussian 5nion as a base of operations within the cluster& it succee$e$ beyon$ its wil$est $reams, an$ ha$ one of the stron"est economies of #nown Space Terraformin" transforme$ the worl$ from a $esolate wastelan$ into a planet fit for humanity, with factory comple6es revolvin" in orbit that service$ hun$re$s of starships a $ay The collapse chan"e$ all of that& the mana"e$ biosphere collapse$ in an or"y of $estruction, an$ the entire population of the planet was $ea$ within twenty years The orbital habitats survive$, each of them maintainin" an uneasy truce after an initial perio$ of conflict over scarce materials 7inally, the )ouncil of )omman$ers met to $eci$e on a "ran$ pro*ect& the resettlement of ,olkhov 8t woul$ not be easy, but the habitats were failin", life support systems collapsin" The colonization effort re-uire$ total commitment of all resources, but $espite several narrow escapes, was a success ,olkhov's new population was use$ to space stations, an$ most of them electe$ to "roup to"ether, constructin" a hu"e arcolo"y $esi"ne$ to support the entire population of the planet, supporte$ by a network of lar"ely automate$ a"ricultural comple6es The planet's four moons provi$e the raw material for a hun$re$ in$ustrial revolutions, an$ are not e6pecte$ to run $ry for millennia Thou"h almost the entire population lives in ,olkhov"ra$, that $oes not mean that they are a unifie$ people, -uite the reverse /lanetary unity barely laste$ a century& a system of "overnment(owne$ corporations broke $own in a flurry of privatization, an$ "reat $evastation was cause$ by fi"htin" in the streets of the city, as well as warfare ami$ the orbital stations an$ prospectin" bases This perio$ically still flares up& ,olkhov is 'run'

by a collection of )orporate Warlor$s, each fi"htin" with the others for power, wealth an$ influence 9 thou"h they have all a"ree$ that when it comes to facin" the outsi$e universe, their interests coinci$e %t least, for the present

Worl$s of the 7irst '6pansion 8n the initial recovery of starfli"ht, scouts sponsore$ by the )orporate Warlor$s have visite$ several local systems, with several repeat visits :ra$ually, public knowle$"e of the area beyon$ ,olkhov is be"innin" to seep into the local population& in$ee$, the rulin" classes are alrea$y venturin" to the closest systems in a wave of million(cre$it tourism 8nterstellar travel, while not a commonplace event, no lon"er makes the ni"htly news as it once $i$ Tra$e is be"innin" to open up as never before, an$ these worl$s are "rowin" wise to the ways of the travellin" merchant& furthermore, on these planets the spectre of competition with other ,olkhovian tra$ers, or potentially others from further afiel$, is present !n the other han$ 9 there is likely to be a frien$ly face to contact for assistance, if such is necessary Thra6is ./opulation0 ;10,0003 )ut off since the Scream, Thra6is has proven to be one of the most welcomin" planets yet contacte$& the locals, mostly of a philosophic bent, are ea"er for new cultural contacts an$ information <escen$e$ from the survivors of a scientific research archive establishe$ as a last($itch measure in the final $ays of the Terran +an$ate, their primary e6port is information The planet is e6tremely hostile to life& the population lives in a series of un$er"roun$ cities 'pona ./opulation0 20=,0003 'pona, when it was first reache$, ha$ alrea$y been contacte$ by pil"rims from 'bios travellin" to marvel at the artefacts of a lon"($ea$ psionic(base$ culture, still survivin" in museums an$ at sites across the planet 5nusually, the planet's inhabitants have no psionic potential whatever, $espite perio$ic testin" The population operates with an enli"htene$ $emocratic "overnment that has remaine$ stable for centuries, which is takin" care to avoi$ interstellar treaties an$ relationships, preferrin" the safety of neutrality The planet's biosphere is incompatible with humanity, but the hy$roponic system is e6traor$inary well $evelope$, makin" the worl$ an e6porter of e6otic foo$stuffs Taranis ./opulation0 113,0003 The worl$ of the hunters& Taranis is alrea$y provin" a popular $estinations for the scions of the Warlor$ families, with wil$life that is a challen"e to any hunter Taranian furs are alrea$y becomin" prize$ tra$in" commo$ities across the cluster, thou"h ac-uirin" them can prove $ifficult The planet is not unifie$& half a $ozen $ifferent nations are en"a"e$ in perio$ic conflicts, thou"h at present these are remainin" un$er control The southern continent is lar"ely uninhabite$, an$ areas are bein" use$ as a "ame preserve by ,olkhovian travellers Tanna(Sheru ./opulation0 20,000>3

!f all the worl$s in the cluster, this is the one that appears to have come closest to the brink 4ecor$s are uncertain at best, but there is plenty of physical evi$ence for the catastrophe that hit this planet in the form of still( "lowin" ra$ioactive craters where cities once stoo$ 7eral tribes still survive in the wil$erlan$s, rapi$ly re"ressin" to a primitive culture as the last remainin" technolo"y $ecays 4umours persist of enclaves of civilization hi$$en somewhere in the wastelan$s, but no evi$ence of this has yet been foun$ The planet is provin" a site of interest to archaeolo"ists 9 an$ scaven"ers

Worl$s of the Secon$ '6pansion

The ?ost Worl$s