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Sterry

Name: Sterry

Created By: Jay P. Hailey


Summary: A Planet of black and white issues

System Sidebar

System Name: Sterry system

Affiliation: Neutral, Borderline Prime Directive
Inhabited Planets: 1

Other Planets: 11 other planets and an asteroid belt in a sprawling solar system.

Artificial Objects: The Planet Sterry has artificial satellites and a healthy if low-tech space program.

SIS: The huge distances between planets in this system makes in-system travel very difficult for all but Impulse technology.

Environment: Sterry is a colder world than Earth on the average, with large temperate forests, and landscape carved repeatedly by advancing and retreating glaciers.


Locations: Sterry Prime, or Capital City. The seat of government on Sterry and the largest city on the planet. This is the location that draws most visitors.

Cross River City - A large, well devloped city with an active University System

History: Sterry may have been settled in the distant past by sentients from the Planet Cheron. The current civilization of Sterry is composed of humanoids with a striking color scheme. These humanoids are either white on the right and black on the left side or they are black on the right side and white on the left.


This color differential has shaped the entire history of Sterry. The first records of Sterrian history details accounts of different nations on the surface of the planet, many based on the notion that one coloration of Sterrian was superior to the other. A brutal history of warfare and conquest is detailed, with many historical phases, developments and almost chaotic progress. Eventually the black/white Sterrians gained the upper hand in the constant fighting for dominion and rose to the superior position on the planet. They oppressed the white/black Sterrians energetically, inflicting crusades, pogroms and even slavery. The black/white

Planetary Sidebar


Planet Name: Sterry.
Class: M
System Data: Sterry has no moons.
Gravity: 1.1 G.
Year and Day: Day 25 hours. Year, 625 standard years.
Atmosphere: Normal class M mixture.
Hydrosphere: 76%
Climate: Varied as per class M planets but cooler over all.
Sapient Species: Sterrians, Humanoids, colored sharply black and white.
Tech Level: 5 over all. Some tech level 6 artifacts are present.
Government: Bureaucratic/ Military.
Culture: Stratified, and developing despite some discomfort.
Affiliation: neutral.
Resources: The asteroids of the Sterry system hold the promise of great mineral wealth, should they ever be developed.
Places of Note: Sterry Prime/Capital City. The Northwestern quadrant of the Alpha Continent is said to be beautiful and very inviting for camping, hiking and other such wilderness activities.
Ship Facilities: None, Sterry doesn't even have a permanent Space station in orbit yet.

Sterrians then went on to conquer even themselves in a long campaign of cold and hot wars for dominance. The former nations of Sterry exist as administrative districts in a large planetary government. Once the issue of dominance was settled Sterry began to slowly, painfully discover the concepts of human rights and equality. These were marked by many protests, uprisings and outright civil war.

Now, Sterry stands at the opening of it's space age, wrestling with rapidly advancing technology, and social institutions which no longer function as well as they once did.

Culture: The average Sterrian is colored black/white and believes that he lives in Sterry's Golden age. The government, while not terribly responsive or representative, is dedicated to keeping the peace and seems content to get out of the way. New technologies and new media mean new opportunities for commerce and artistic expression. A sizable minority of Sterrians are white/black and see things somewhat differently. Their standard of living is lower and the numbers and kinds of jobs, training and education are generally closed to them. However slavery hasn't been legal in several generations and the Apartheid laws regarding color are crumbling slowly. Too slowly for many young white/black Sterrians and more progressive black/whites.

Sterry has good technology for tech level five, approximately equal to Earths in the 2030s. However the Sterry system is built on a grand scale, with the nearest planets being tens of Astronomical Units away. This places the system out of reach of most any drive technology short of impulse drives. These great distances have hampered the development of the Sterrian Space program. It was only after being visited by Orion traders that the Sterrians began to approach Space with some commitment.

Population: 4 billion approximately

Government: Bureaucratic/Military dictatorship, checked and balanced by bureaucratic procedures and the unwillingness of the ruling council to let any one Sterrian gain dominance.

Strategic Importance: Little. If developed to full tech level the Sterrians could easily support a starbase and a large fleet based on their own level of militarism and available resources. However until they get the technology, they are a backwater.

Economy: The Sterrian internal economy is moribund and bland. It rarely changes due to the drag of having a sizable portion of their population excluded from wealth creation, and the control of a bureaucratic administration, which sees the status quo as safe and desirable. If Sterry is able to develop their in system resources, it could become a industrial powerhouse in their sector. Some Sterrian luxury items have found a small market in the galaxy, as well as Sterrian art, music and literature. But the traffic in these is small enough to be statistically insignificant

Present Conflicts: The main Sterrian conflict is internal between the black/white Sterrians and the white/black ones. The social inequity is a major problem and creates a continuous tension and risk of conflict.

Episode Seeds:

Black and White Issues - The PCs receive a distress call from Sterry. A disease is ravaging the planet. It begins with a fever that can be deadly for the very young or very old, but healthy adults and children should survive their bout with it. The big problem is that once the disease has run its course the sufferer's colors will be scrambled. Zebra stripes, large random patches or polka dots will be seen. This presents a problem in that once scrambled, it's impossible to tell whether the victim was of the dominant black/white color, or the oppressed white/black color. This disease is spreading rapidly and Sterrian Medical technology is helpless before it.

Pirate Base - The Sterry System is built on a very large scale. The outer most planet is incredibly far away as solar systems go. This planet is a brown dwarf, a failed star. It has a small planetary system of it's own. The second to last planet is a terrestrial planet similar in size to mars, with deep frozen crusts of hydrogen, methane, and oxygen and other material. With the proper equipment and labor these locations could be developed into excellent covert bases for piracy. These could easily appear to be originating at Sterry itself. If the pirates feel brave they may try to arrange a relationship with Sterry for support in exchange for Technology.

Sterry's Big Break
- Sterry has captured an Orion or neutral trading ship claiming that the crew has broken a planetary law. The PCs are sent to investigate, try to moderate the dispute and keep the technology of the trading ship out of Sterrian hands.

Whether this is a trumped up charge or a genuine crime is left for the Narrator to determine. The Sterrians are probably very eager to get ahold of starship technology and develop a permanent space presence.



Relations:

The United Federation Planets has declared Sterry off limits due to the Prime Directive and sincerely urges Civilians and non-Federation travelers to avoid the planet. The Sterrian Approach to government and civil rights is not compatible with Federation ideals.

Orion Traders stop occasionally at Sterry due to the thin Starfleet presence in the region, and ruthlessly exploit the technology and lack of external trade for their own benefit. This is something the Sterrians are keenly aware of and would like to change. Because of the Orion visits the Prime Directive injunction on Sterry is basically a moot point. No one else visits Sterry, currently.

Military: The Sterrian Military is basically a very large, competent and aggressive internal security force. Following contact, they are reconsidering their mission, as the idea of an attack from Space leaves the realm of fantasy and becomes real. The internal Security mission remains at the center of Sterrian military operations at this time. The Sterrian Military is the direct descendant of the winner of the last internal military struggle on Sterry, which decided which faction would dominate the planet afterwards. They retain many of the elements of this old mission in vestigial and ceremonial functions. However, without an organized, opposing military, these elements are small and not terribly influential.

Languages: The Main Sterrian Language is an official language taught to all Sterrians. It's a development of the language spoken in Sterry Prime during its nation's climb to dominance over the planet. This language has been completely translated by Orion and Federation visitors and is commonly available. Universal translators should translate the Sterrian Language immediately and with very few errors.


Notable Inhabitants: Ktar Margli, First Minister of Planet Sterry, is a competent bureaucrat, Charismatic and intelligent. He's a firm servant of the status quo, but if change becomes necessary on Sterry, He'll see the need and adapt to it quickly.

General Margan Zillo, Chief of the Sterrian Military. Much more stubborn and strong willed than
First Minister Margli, Zillo is a veteran of some tough anti-guerilla and counter-terrorist actions. He's a dyed in the wool military man through and through, and believes in his heart of hearts that the current Sterrians System is the best possible. He'll die and kill to preserve it.

Doctor Zil Marga, a notable genius even by galactic standards. He has advanced the state of the art in Sterrian genetic engineering and biotechnology by almost a century during his 30-year career as a scientist.


Sterry

Class G II, 6.0 solar masses.
Biozone 13 - 20 AU
13 Planets, 1 asteroid belt

Orbit 01, 0.5 AU - Hot rock ball
Orbit 02, 0.8 AU - Hot Rock ball
Orbit 03, 1.4 AU - Asteroid Belt
Orbit 04, 2.6 AU - Hostile Greenhouse World
Orbit 05, 9.8 AU - Hot Rock ball
Orbit 06, 19.4 AU - Sterry
Orbit 07, 38.6 AU - Small Gas Giant, 4 medium moons, 3 large moons,
Orbit 09, 77.0 AU - Cold Rock ball
Orbit 10, 307.4 AU - Small Gas Giant, 1 medium moon, 3 large moons,
Orbit 11, 614.6 AU - Medium Gas Giant, 2 medium moons, 2 large moons, Faint ring
Orbit 12, 1229 AU - Cold Rock Ball
Orbit 13, 2457.8 AU - Cold Rock Ball
Orbit 14, 4915.4 AU - Huge Gas Giant, Brown Dwarf. 3 Medium moons, 2 large Moons, Large Ring System.

 

Disclaimer: Paramount owns all things Trek. I claim original characters and situations in this material for me.

Jay P. Hailey

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