The Free Port of Pogue

Created By: Jay P Hailey (Shamelessly ripped off from the WYNN of SFB)
Appearance: Mentioned in the STB-600 game
Number of Members: About 2 million beings
Nature of Members: Villains, criminals, adventurers and mercenaries with strong stomachs.
Organization: There is no government on Pogue. Bands of thugs, bandits and pirates follow a random selection of strong war leaders until they, or their leaders are killed.
Game Role: A location for play.
World Role: A hive of scum of Villainy protected by massive terrain Advantages
Economy: The Economy of Pogue is one of harshness and misery with high technology thrown in. A brutal world, slaves are worked to death in plantations and mines to support the rest of the population. The main pillar of the Economy is theft and piracy. This brings in all the funds that the Pogues have to build their planet with. Pogue has connections to black markets all over the region, and funnels stolen good off planet.
       Pogue also has a small but hard core tourist industry composed mainly of spies who routes into their target nations, intelligence operatives trying to find a way to shut the place down. mercenaries looking for work, and most of all, thugs, bandits and pirates looking for berths and victims.
Public or Secret?: Both
Publicly Stated Goal: The strong survive, the weak don't. this makes the weak easier to loot.
Relative Wealth: Small, Pogue could never withstand other Kogari powers without the nebula to provide leverage. They get by on stealing and agriculture with minors in ship building and other technological activities.
Group advantages: Anything can be bought on Pogue for the right amount of money. Got a few billion credits? An enterprising operator can and will steal you a Mongo, Kaladoran or Mizerti warship. (Expect all the technology to be thoroughly investigated when you take delivery)
       Pogue has the highest per-capita average of combat skill of any planet outside of the Klingon Empire. Blood-soaked and evil but *competent* warriors are always available there and for surprisingly cheap rates.
Special Abilities: The Nebula: The Pogue Nebula is energized by a powerful black hole at its center. This black hole charges up the gas of the nebula creating powerfully negative effects on the ships entering the nebula. After a few days it's possible to adapt a ship to existence in the nebula, but in the early going, a ship entering the nebula is very vulnerable.
       Some of the effects include - Shields are weakened massively on large ships. smaller ships (Fighters, shuttles and missiles) quickly loose all protection and are destroyed.
       Sensors are all but useless, weapons lock-ons don't work.
       Heading control is difficult at best, holding a course is a much more approximate situation. holding close formations is all but impossible.
       Navigation is severely hampered and warp drive becomes slower and more difficult until near the center of the nebula, it's impossible.
       Since Pogue ships have had the time necessary to adapt, they suffer these effects much less - they can navigate and get partial weapons lock. And this is all they need to really stick it to much larger fleets attacking through the nebula.
Group disadvantages: Because of its reputation as a galactic hive of scum and villainy, no one sane wants to list it as a home address. Being from or around Pogue tends to draw hostility and violent responses. Just visiting the place is good for a long session with the police and military investigators.
Special disadvantages: The Pogue nebula which is a mass of exotic particles, charged with exotic energy and exotic radiations is not a terribly healthy environment. Ships and people exposed for long durations may well suffer more long term wear.
Relations:

The UFP - The UFP opposes Pogue raiding and depredations on principle, but can't mount any serious campaign against them, the UFP has made it known they're up to support a coalition attack but repeated failures in the nebula prevent any serious thought of taking down Pogue for now. Pogue Raiders are attacked aggressively when spotted
       Pogue, like Akbara sees a certain amount of "Black" traffic from the UFP, black marketers, the corrupt and spies.
Miatra - Miatra has more of a relationship and more hostility with Akbara, but they oppose Pogue on principle and from minor losses of their own. At least one Miatran task force, sent out in a fit of arrogance and self assurance was cut to pieces of the Pogue Nebula. Miatra strongly supports other forces against Pogue but isn't very comfortable making a more in depth coalition with it's rivals for power.
Kalador - Kalador is the chief victim of Poguish depredations and it's chief opponent in battle. Kaladoran units when they catch Poguish raiders outside of the nebula almost always triumph in their encounters, but Poguish raiders are slippery and hard to catch outside of the nebula. if the Kaladorans found it the only way to end Pogue's reign of terror, they'd launch planet busters and leave an asteroid field behind. Interestingly enough, they'd get more support for this than outright conquest, since adding Pogue people, resources and defensive advantage to Kalador would just make then that much hard for Mizert or Miatra to catch up to.
Mizert - Mizert dislikes Pogue with matter-of-fact brutality and shows little mercy to Poguish raiders when they are caught. Mizert sees them mainly as test cases for new sensor rigs, using advanced sensor platforms to run down hapless raiders. Mizert also sees the Pogue nebula as a technical challenge, always scouting it and trying to track down the effects of the nebula and how to protect equipment against them. this hasn't been very successful before.
       Mizert units often join the Anti-piracy patrols of other nations, mainly to hear pirates scream and to get signit on the units of other militaries.
The Realm of Ko'ot - Ko'ot maintains anti-piracy patrols but doesn't suffer piracy as much, because they have little that Pirates can't get closer. they do suffer as pirates occasionally realize that Ko'ot isn't as stimulated to be earnest in their Anti-piracy work.
       The Ko'ot military often cooperates with the militaries of other nations in anti-piracy patrols.
The Principalities of Anzon - Anzon forces and mercenary units are often recruited to beef up anti-piracy patrols. Down on their luck and desperate Anzons migrate to Pogue looking for a berth on a Pirate. occasionally Anzon shipping is his by pirates operating out of Pogue.
Akbara - The Akbaran considers Pogue a terrible warning of the end result of life without the One True Faith. Barbarians and Psychopaths live among Corruption, violence, debauchery, humiliation, every type of vice known to the mind of sentient creatures and some new inventions and these are Pogue's GOOD points. Meanwhile Pogues think of the Akbarans as a pack of hypocritical, holier-than-thou jerks who need to get laid and loose the gay-ass yellow uniforms.
       Sweet talking aside Akbara and Pogue are each others biggest trading partners and their only source of support in the whole universe, it seems so while they sneer, they also work together and show no sign of stopping.
       Akbara is the only place from which one can catch a commercial flight to Pogue on a reasonably consistent basis.
The Free Republic of Zolan - The Free Republic of Zolan has little contact with Pogue although some raids are reported in Zolan Territory. Zolan opposes Slavery on principle, and supports anti-Pogue campaigns.
The Mining Guild of Porniqt - Pogue and Akbara are the reason why Porniqt hires mercenaries and privateers. Porniqt also pays heavily for the Anti-Piracy patrols of the Kogari powers. Unlike Kalador, who'd destroy the planet and loose it's resources and people only if there was no other way, Porniqt would prefer to use planet crackers mainly out of spite.
Mongo - Mongo, who's people suffered at the hands of Pogues who squeezed their supply lines, continued aggressive anti-piracy patrols, but have not mounted any attempt to test the nebula. Ming knows his limitations and knows that Pogue will fall to him in time, if he focuses on the first things, first.
Ix!tor - The Ix!tor are common visitors to Pogue, although they take some pains to hide this. they are customers of Pogues ship building industry and a good market for slaves. Near Ix!Tor itself, Pogues are greeted with hot weapons and demands to stand down. Neither side has any illusions about the other.
Tanak - The Pogues love Tanak, landing there with some impunity and raiding the place almost at will. Tanak sucks for the average Tanaki but Pogue one of the few places that sucks worse. Interestingly if Tanak can round up a ship and a crew to make the trip, Pogue will cheerfully sell them all the weapons and technology they can afford.
Bykaler - Pogue has little awareness of Bykaler, let alone any relationship. Like the rest of the UFP they disapprove of piracy on principle and support the UFP's attempts to wipe it out. Bykalers work out their violent tendencies and warrior nature on Pirates.
Haven - Haven reacts violently to raiders from Pogue and attacks with hostility. they have lost task forces of their own in the Pogue nebula. Disgraced or exiled Bykalers can find work on Pogue as leg breakers. And Ripper-offers. And Eaters.
       Havenite and Bykaler Bykalers engaged in life or death combat will drop it and cooperate to take down these miserable specimens, so their life expectancy isn't long.
       Even so, Some of the cruel, miserable dishonored Bykaler are actually haven agents, working to gain information and goods for their home land.
Vargr - A few Vargr traders and Raiders have visited Pogue and done business there. Many more have come to grief at the hands of Pogue Raiders. Vargr mercenaries are very agreeable to being hired on anti-Raider patrols near Pogue and Akbara. Vargr raiders who visit Pogue are not above selling information they get from the planet to outside interests.

Area of Operation: Inside the Pogue nebula. the Kolgari region
Headquarters Location: Golden City, Pogue, where he who has the Gold, Makes the rules.
Public Face: A Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy.
Notable Members: Zeena the Pirate Queen -- Zeena was one of the few recognizable personalities that could be found on Pogue. As a result she was unpopular. Pogue, and its people prefer that no light shine on their dark little hole. As a result of that Zeena vanished one fine day and her compound was hit by several mercenary bands at once. Scuttlebutt has it that Zeena herself "entertained" the backers of that little raid and then various parts of her got a guided tour of the digestive tracts of a number of renegade Bykalers. The truth? No one that knows is telling. The end result is however, no one has seen fit to "make a name" for themselves in the 20 years since.
History of the Organization: No one alive knows when Pogue was first settled. The main city, the port itself, is built over ruins of previous installations.
       There are old records of a Zarian Imperial Scout ship discovering the planet and inhabitants when first probing the mysterious nebula. Rebels and bandits quickly realized they could evade pursuit in the nebula, and it quickly took on it's current role.
       The Planet Pogue itself has a slightly larger metallic core and slightly higher over all density than Earth. This means it's magnetic field is correspondingly stronger, and the provides Natives on the ground with protection from the radiation and other effects of the Nebula.
       Pogue and it's small retinue of sibling planets orbit a type G3 star that drifted into the nebula within the last 100,000 years. within the next 3 million years, the star and it's planets will be separated by the black hole and absorbed into it. A bad place for real estate development.
       The interaction of the nebula and the magnetic fields of Pogue create huge auroras which light up the night sky of Pogue. This creates a sort of ever-shifting neon in the sky which is said to be quite spooky at times.
Culture: The culture of Pogue is brutal for most people. Slaves taken to Pogue tend to be worked to death in harsh mines or hydroponic farm plantations, or slaughtered outright in pit fights or at the whim of some psychopath.
       For the average free man or woman, life isn't a whole lot better. People go armed on Pogue not as a statement of their freedom but because people who don't risk being kidnapped into slavery. Neighbors have learned to support each other but that there are limits to fighting the big pirates.
       For the wealthy and powerful on Pogue life seems almost civilized, they get full services and security, because they are able to pay for them. However if one doesn't have a taste for illegal drugs or activities, or hurting helpless people, the usual wealthy person on Pogue knows someone who does.
       And you don't get rich and powerful on Pogue without doing something unpleasant to somebody somewhere.
Languages: All common local Galactic languages are spoken on Pogue.
Military: The Freeport of Pogue depends on mercenary and pirate ships for their defense. However , these are usually perfectly adequate.
 
 
This is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and situations are fictional. Any resemblance to persons, places, or situations living or dead is coincidental.

© Garry Stahl: 1997-2006. Except where other copyrights apply. All rights reserved, re-print only with permission.

 
 
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