|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:01:42 GMT -5
Elina Primus[/u]
5/27/23. M5V
Elina Primus I[/u]
5,27,23 - M-V - E355715-8 Ag 124 Im 162
Planet: Elina Primus 1 (Elina) World class: Mining world Population: 19 700 000 Tech level: 8 Tithe Grade: Decuma Tertius Aestimare: G150
Orbital distance: 0. 2 AU Equatorial diameter: 5122 km Gravity: 0.54 g Orbital period: 56 days 18 hours Length of day: 34 hours 39 minutes 3 seconds Atmosphere: Thin Surface atmospheric pressure: 0.30 atm Surface temperature: -74.3 Celsius Hydrosphere: 51% Life forms: Proto-cellular Moons: None
Planet description Elina is a young iceworld colonized for mining purposes and controlled by large interstellar mining corporations. It is both harsh and beautiful; its three major continents are filled with endless icy wastes, beautiful mountains and majestic fjelds. The temperatures are freezing and the powerful and chilly winds can reshape the barren landscape in just hours. The Elinians live in countless of small and isolated underground mining installations. On the bottom of the frozen oceans lie four small underwater research and mining stations. Most of Elinians make their living in the mining business. They live quiet communal life, unconcerned with everything happening outside their small communities.
Government Right from the early days of the colonization of the planet Elina has been ruled by five corporations who answer to the Imperial Commander. The title of Imperial Commander has always been passed down between the eldest males of the Stenwall family, the descendants of the original settler of the planet. The corporations take care of most of the day-to-day running of the planet and the Imperial Commander doesn’t involve himself in the politics unless the particular case concerns the whole of the planet or there is a large disagreement between two corporations. As long as their views don’t oppose the Lex Imperialis or the peace of the planet, the corporations can take care of their own matters.
Religion Elinians are very religious people. They tend to conduct their religious affairs in a silent and obedient God-Emperor fearing manner; complex rituals and ceremonies don’t fit into their manner of worship. The Ecclessiarchy has a moderate presence on Elina and the faith itself has remained quite orthodox. The clergy is greatly respected by all Elinians, nobles and mineworkers alike. Religion is one of the few areas of life in Elina that has remained completely independent from the influence of the corporations. As a result the Ecclessiarchy is also one of the greatest potential threats to the rule of the corporations and because of that the corporations are willing to go into great lengths of trouble to stay in good terms with the Ecclessiarchy. There is at least a small shrine in even the smallest of mining communities and more often than not, a large temple near the centre of the installation. These places of worship are always very well taken care of, and Elinians take great pride in their temples and shrines. The temples also function as a meeting place where the whole community can gather, and are therefore very important to the unity of the community. As such, religion is an inseparable part of the Elinian culture and way of life.
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:02:27 GMT -5
Society and law Elina is divided between five major corporations, with few notable neutral areas such as the capital. These corporations are Garuda Corporation, Menehune Corporation, United Trade Consortium, Earlhart Corporation and the former Quillix Corporation, which is now replaced by the young Kharga Corporation. The Imperial Commander is nominally in charge of the planet, but the corporations provide the inhabitants of the planet with most of the everyday necessities such as electricity, water, food and clothing. Some minor differences exist in the way things are run by the different corporations. Although the Imperial Commander and the Adeptus Terra are nominally responsible for setting the laws and the Adeptus Arbites are nominally responsible for enforcing the laws, most of the day-to-day running and lawkeeping on Elina is done by the corporations. The Adeptus Arbites sometimes perform some larger-scale operations, but given the peaceful nature of the planet this happens very rarely. Lex Imperialis is pursued in a moderate manner. Concealed weapons are prohibited, but very few people actually feel the need to own weapons on Elina. Most of the weapons in civilian use are owned by the bodyguards of nobles who want to stay safely inside their homes.
The capital of Elina is also called Elina. It houses some 36 000 citizens, and it is not controlled by any of the corporations. The Imperial Commander resides here, along with all the other important people such as the leaders of the Ecclessiarchy, the Inquisition and the Adeptus Mechanicus on the planet. The Commander’s Palace is the largest surface structure on the planet and about two thousand people live in the palace alone. It has stood there since the colonisation of the planet, although it has increased in size over the years. There are also two other large cities on Elina, these are Venla and Martta, which are the capitals of the two other continents on Elina. Apart from the three major cities, the people of Elina live in thousands and thousands of small and isolated mining communities. These installations can vary from hundreds to few thousand inhabitants in size, but the basic design is always roughly the same. Most of the installation is always situated below ground, and the only parts of the structure that are above ground are the luxurious and spacious homes of the nobles, some food and clothing production facilities and in the case of larger installations, the barracks. The very core of the installation is usually filled with all the important public facilities such as temples, infirmaries and corporation facilities. Along with the habitation quarters and the food and clothing production facilities, most of the space is taken by the actual mines. These are always on the very bottom of the installation and grow in size as time passes and the miners dig deeper to the planet’s crust.
Elinians are divided into three social classes. The nobility consists of the most high-ranking corporation, Adeptus Terra and Ecclessiarchy members. They live on the surface, in their spacious and lavish glass domed apartments. They rarely leave their homes, instead preferring to do their work at home, have everything brought to them and enjoy the beautiful sunsets of Elina and the company of other nobles during their extravagant parties. The middle class consists of most of the clergy, merchants, scribes, corporation officials and many others. They live under the surface, usually near the centre of the installation. They live quiet obedient lives and are usually very content with what they have. The majority of the population works in the mines on the bottom of the installation. They toil tirelessly in the hot and noisy mines, smelteries and forges, digging ever deeper to the crust of Elina. After long days of work they get home to enjoy the company of their friends -and more often than not, some very strong alcoholic beverages. The crime rates are highest among the miners, and there are lots of rejects of the society, homeless drunkards and other such people living on the lower reaches of the city. It is not uncommon at all for somebody from the lower class to live their whole lives underground, never seeing the sky. Although the living conditions of the lower class aren’t very good, they are lively and happy people, who enjoy simple things like good music and alcohol.
As a result of the isolated nature of the mining installations, Elinians are very communal and conservative. Elinians have high respect for their ancestors and it is common to name children after dead relatives. As space is often scarce in the installations, Elinians have developed an unusual way of burial. Near the centre of every mining installation on Elina is a huge burial chamber that is usually carved out of black granite. It is lighted by huge braziers that have fires burning in them at all times. Instead of burying bodies, the people of Elina bury names. Along the granite walls are inscribed all the names of people who have deceased in that community. People pass by the names in silent reverence to their ancestors. The actual bodies are ritually burned upon death. The nobility of Elina take this custom even further. They have their own private family crypts where they keep the skulls of their dead relatives, with bronze plaques with the name of the person attached to the skull. The crypt is the greatest pride of any Elinian noble family, as it displays their entire glorious lineage.
There is almost no travel between different mining installations, but there is one notable exception. As Elina lives from the export of ores, the transportation of ores is naturally very important. There are only three starports on the planet, each situated in one of the three major cities. These cities have become the hub of all trade and travelling on Elina. However, the harsh conditions of Elina have made the transportation of ores very difficult. The high winds effectively prevent any form of flight and also make it impossible to use any kind of rail based transportation. So, Elinians have developed their own way of transportation. These sledge-ships, as they are called, are long and low vehicles on skis. They have large sails and use the powerful winds to propel them onwards. They also have small jet engines in the case that the winds aren’t favourable, but they are unreliable in the extreme temperatures of Elina. This kind of travelling is naturally quite dangerous, but it is the best and the only way to navigate Elina’s hazardous surface. The sledge-sail pilots are looked upon with a mixture of awe and pity; their work is critical to the well-being of all Elinians, but at the same time they remove themselves from the normal workings of the society and expose them to constant danger.
Technology The level of technology on Elina is slightly lower than on most Imperial worlds. The corporations provide the people with the technology that they need for surviving, but anything more is a waste of profits. The tech level is obviously considerably higher in some more cost-effective or just plain essential cases, such as insulation or mining equipment. In addition, the nobility of Elina has access to some very sophisticated pieces of technology. Life on Elina is rather simple and some areas of life taken for granted on other worlds don’t even exist on Elina. Therefore the technology is lacking in some areas, communication technology for example is very limited on Elina as there is very little use for it.
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:03:22 GMT -5
Trade and tithes Appropriate for a mining world, the large majority of all trade between Elina and other planets consists of the export of ores, metals, crystals and other resources mined from Elina’s crust. This only benefits the corporations of course, who in turn take care of the citizens of the planet. Elina strives to be as self-sufficient as possible, and to a large degree this is true. Vast spaces are taken by the manufacture of clothes and food and even the smallest of communities can survive without help for very long periods of time. Because of this, there is very little import done; only some very rare and specialized products such as some medicine are bought. Trade between cities is virtually nonexistent, since they strive to be self-sufficient and travel between cities is always dangerous and unreliable. Most of Elina’s tithes are also paid in mining products. In addition Elina provides the Imperium with men and women for the Imperial Guard. A portion of the enlisted personnel work as instructors for other regiments in the Archaios sub-sector, and teach them iceworld survival techniques.
Physiology The relatively low gravity of the planet makes the people of Elina slightly taller and slimmer than usual. The low gravity also results in reduced bone and muscle mass, although most of the population have to work hard all day at the mines beneath the surface, which compensates for the lack of muscle mass. The nobility of Elina have come to regard tallness and slenderness as marks of status, because it means that they are too important for physical labour. The mineworkers, who make up for the most of the planet’s population, work and live deep underground in the lowest levels of the cities. It is rare for them to ever see the sky, so they are naturally very pale. This is hardly noticeable though, because of the dirt that constantly covers their heat baked faces.
Psychology People of Elina are peaceful and quiet. They are simple hard working people who take pleasure in the small everyday things of life. To an outsider they may seem either shy or rude, but Elinians are just not very outgoing. Small-talk and customary compliments are not part of their culture. Once they open up though, which usually requires no small amount of alcoholic beverages, they are very lively and talkative. Over the centuries, the people of Elina have come to love their harsh planet. They have become slightly obsessed about the peaceful and quiet nature of their planet, and as a result, they want things to remain as they are. They often mistrust off-worlders and people they don’t know. They are also prone to ignoring signs of change, even very alarming ones, like the recent mining accident that nearly resulted in the destruction of Lauri’s Reach, one of the four underwater cities on Elina.
Lauri’s Reach is an underwater mining city and research station of some two hundred people. Most of its inhabitants work with automated underwater mining machinery and extract rare minerals and ores from the bottom of the ocean. While drilling they accidentally uncovered a previously unknown gas pocket and caused it to explode. The explosion caused a chain reaction of seismic activity which caused the subsequent creation of an underwater rift that is estimated to be about two kilometres deep. There is a constant flow of steam coming from the rift which is warming the seawater and after few months it melted the ice above the rift and created the only place on Elina where the surface of the water isn’t frozen. Luckily, the city of Lauri’s Reach was unaffected, and the faint rays of sun now shine through the water making the place quite beautiful. This incident has caused some the rise of some dissenting voices. They claim that without proper precautions, such events could occur again, this time with much more destructive consequences. According to them, severe geological damage could be caused if the raping of the planet’s crust continues. The people of Elina usually regard these people as insane doomsday prophets who got nothing better to do than ramble about false disasters. The corporations keep assuring the population that everything is as it has always been and at the same time silence any credible research upon the matter.
As another result of this attitude, Elinians ignore the chance of another rising of the Genestealer cult. They don’t like remembering those grim times and they feel ashamed by the fact that the peaceful nature of their existence was disturbed in such a shameful and horrible way. And on those rare occasions when the subject comes up, they only remember their own heroic actions in eradicating the threat. This has become quite a problem for the Inquisitorial forces stationed on the planet. In addition to the attitudes of the locals, the corporations, ever fearful of the inquisition coming to shut down their business, are trying to deal with the problem themselves. They are making sure that the local authorities are unwilling to fully co-operate with the inquisition and they are also silencing any individuals who are trying to look into the problem. Because of this the inquisitors often feel that they are chasing nothing but shadows and ghosts.
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:04:23 GMT -5
Language and dialect Since Elina has no pre-imperial past and it was quite recently colonized, the language spoken by its inhabitants is more or less standard Low Gothic. As the inhabitants originate from all over the Anargo sector, few words and phrases from other worlds have been adopted to the language. As an exception, Elinians have developed dozens of words for the different types of snow and ice. Planetary defence force Even though the Elinian PDF hasn’t seen major action since the return of the Dark Eldar seventy two years ago, it is still a popular choice for the young people of Elina. For Elinians the armed forces have always been an important, natural and necessary part of their society. The PDF consists mostly of infantry, since maintaining and operating any means of transport other than sledge-ships is nigh impossible on Elina. Therefore there is no armoured support of any kind in the PDF. This has forced the PDF to concentrate entirely on mastering efficient infantry tactics; in the case of an attack, no installation can really count on the arrival of reinforcements any time soon and they must be able to survive prolonged engagements on their own. At the moment, about three percent of the entire population are enlisted in the Planetary Defence Forces. That makes for some five and a half million people enlisted, not counting the Imperial Guard regiments.
History Elina is a young world that was colonized in 224M38 by a man named Baron Stenwall from Archaios. He saw the potential in the small iceworld and named it after his wife. He decided that the best way to colonize the world would be to sell most of the land to large corporations from all over the Anargo Sector. His plan worked and Elina was divided into five parts, each governed by a different corporation. After first few years of hard work, Baron Stenwall, the new Imperial Commander of Elina, could relax and enjoy his old days in peace and luxury. More and more mining installations were founded on the harsh planet and the existing ones became almost self-sufficient. The colonization came to a grinding halt in 533M38 with the rise of the Alpha Legion. Although the war didn’t directly harm Elina, it effectively stopped the colonization as all outside help was cut off. After seven years of stagnation the work was continued as Alpha Legion and its supporters were defeated. After the completion of the first stages of the colonisation things remained quite peaceful for over a thousand years. The population and the number of settlements retained their slow but steady growth and people of Elina came into terms with their home and grew to love it.
This peace was not greatly disturbed until the invasion of the Prince Khal, of the dark kin of Eldar. Elina was an ideal target for slave raids and many small settlements were completely annihilated in the attack. The Planetary Defence Forces were almost totally unable to react to the lightning warfare of the twisted Eldar. Luckily, the enemy presence on Elina was very small and they scattered and left soon after the defeat of the Prince Khal by the Imperial Navy. Elina recovered quite quickly and this dark phase of history was soon forgotten by Elinians.
The new peace lasted as long as to 320M41, the darkest hour of Elina. The details are obscure, but what is known is that a genestealer managed to infiltrate Louhi, which at that time was the second largest city on Elina. It hid in the lower reaches of the city, slowly gathering a base of followers. Over the years it grew in power and its influence increased, unnoticed by everybody. The cult started posing as a new Imperial cult, and it strived, gaining members fast while remaining free of suspicion. Soon a fourth generation hybrid was born and the original leader was replaced. The cult quickly took over the city. The isolated nature of the cities of Elina worked in the advantage of the Imperium however, and before the city was completely overrun, the last loyal citizens somehow managed to warn the other cities. Retribution was swift. Furious of the betrayal of Louhi all the nearby cities united and set out to face the threat. The determination and righteous fury of the loyalists took the cult by surprise as they were expecting to take over the entire planet without fighting. Fierce fighting followed as the loyalist took the battle to the enemy, hoping to be able to save at least some of the citizens of Louhi. They fought their way to the bottom of Louhi and finally victory was achieved, but at great cost. Many loyalists lost their lives and Louhi had to be purged, every last citizen put to the sword. According to the Inquisition, the rash actions of the loyalists were a grave mistake. If the Inquisition would have gotten its way, the city would have been destroyed by bombardment. Now nobody can ever know if the cult was really completely destroyed… Unfortunately the loyalists acted before any real inquisitorial forces could arrive. The city of Louhi has been since rebuilt and repopulated, but it is much smaller than before. For such a small planet, Elina has larger than usual Inquisitorial presence, as agents are now permanently stationed on the planet looking for any signs of another Genestealer infiltration.
It is the nature of Elinians to forget that which they don’t like, and over time, even the rise of the genestealer cult was all but forgotten. The times are dangerous however, whether one believes it or not, and the people of Elina had one more lesson in store for them. 398M41 saw the greatest Dark Eldar incursion in Archaios since the invasion of Prince Khal. As before, the attack was devastating, whole communities were taken as slaves or destroyed. After the initial shock, the Planetary Defence Forces were quick to recover and utilising tricks learned from the previous invasion they forced the dark kin of Eldar to flee the planet. Imperial Navy was busy defending more important planets and the pirates that attacked Elina managed to escape almost unscathed.
There have always been some minor fighting between the corporations on Elina, especially between Earlhart Corporation and Garuda Corporation, but the all-time peak was experienced only fourteen years ago in 456M41 when suddenly the Quillix Corporation found itself under attack from unknown assailants. Cargo convoys were attacked and destroyed while on the way to the capital, officials were assassinated and mining operations sabotaged. Tensions were starting to rise as nobody knew who was to blame. Fortunately for Quillix, help was near, in the form of Genus Corporation, a new and rich company that for some reason came to the aid and together with Quillix they started hunting down those responsible. Results came quickly and the attacks were halted. Quillix and Genus announced their merging and they took the name of Quillix. Seven years passed and suddenly without any warning Quillix announced that the entire corporation was bought by an outside company called the Kharga Corporation. This raised many questions, but as peace had returned things went back to normal. The area formerly controlled by the Quillix Corporation was now run by Kharga Corporation, who instantly started rebuilding infrastructure destroyed in the raids. How well Kharga Corporation manages to restore peace and prosperity to the area remains to be seen.
Today Elina seems as peaceful and thriving as ever. There are some tensions under the surface though. Elinians play a bigger part in subsector politics than they would like to admit. Large corporations from other subsectors have invested in Elina, and are stimulating trade between the Archaios subsector and distant subsectors. Some people in the Archaios subsector feel that other outside influence from places like Meksum and Dorvastor, who are economically much more advanced than Archaios, is not at all welcome. These people are naturally very upset about the presence of the corporations on Elina, and some people even claim that some of the recent accidents that have been happening on Elina were sabotage. They are mostly ignored however, as accidents are quite common. Mining and the transportation of the ores are difficult trades and accidents do happen. Other cases are dismissed as normal rivalry between the corporations.
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:06:04 GMT -5
Date of preparation: 224M38 World UWP: 5,27,23 - M-V - E355715-8 Ag 124 Im 162 Diameter: 5122 km Density: 0.96 standard Mass: 0,495 standard Gravity: 0.54 g Primary Mass (Star): 0.331 Orbit number (Planet): 0 Orbital period (Planet): 56.78 days Rotation period: 34h 39min 3sec Axial Tilt: 12 degrees Orbital Eccentricity: 0.005 Seismic Stress Factor: 4.986 Asteroid Belt Zones: No Primary Mass (Planet): 0,765 standard Atmospheric composition: standard oxygen-nitrogen mix Surface pressure: 0.30 atm Stellar luminosity: 0.29 Orbit factor: 836.435 Energy absorption: 0.780 Greenhouse effect: 1.05 Base temperature: -74 celcius Orbital eccentricity modifier: 0.005 Latitude temperature effects: +12, +8, +4, 0, -4, -8, -12, -16, -20, -24, -28 Axial tilt effects: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1, 1, 1 Daytime plus: 7 Nighttime minus: 25 Native life: Proto-cellular only Atmospheric terraforming: No Greenhouse effect terraforming: No Albedo terraforming: No Temperature terraforming: No Hydrographic percent: 51% Hydrosphere composition: Mostly frozen water, some liquid water on the bottom of the oceans Number of tectonic plates: 3 Hydrosphere terraforming: No Terrain terraforming: No Number of major continents: 3 Number of minor continents: 0 Number of large islands: 0 Number of small islands: 0 Number of archipelagoes: 0 Notable volcanoes: None above ground, few insignificant underwater volcanoes Weather control: No Natural resources: ores, radioactives, crystals, compounds Processed resources: metals, non-metals Manufactured goods: parts, durables, consumables Information: documents Total population: 19 700 000 Local customs: Burial of names, high respect for ancestors, children named after ancestors Primary cities: Elina (36 000 inhabitants, class C starport), Venla (28 000 inhabitants, Class D starport, Martta (25 500 inhabitants, Class E starport) Secondary cities: 1089 cities with an average population of 6000 inhabitants Tertiary cities: 6536 cities with an average population of 2000 inhabitants Progressiveness: conservative; indifferent Aggressiveness: unaggressive; neutral Extensiveness: harmonious; aloof Representative authority: Imperial Commander World government description: Regions owned and controlled by corporations, corporations kept in check by the Imperial commander, who is a descendant of the original settler of the world. Other authority: Significant Adeptus Mechanicus presence. Slightly larger than usual Inquisitorial presence.
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:06:46 GMT -5
Elina Primus II[/u]
Planet: Elina Primus 2 World class: Asteroid belt Population: Barren Aestimare:
Elina Primus II is a rocky asteroid belt of no real value to anybody. It doesn’t have any minerals worth mining for. It was formed many millennia ago by some sort of collision between unknown celestial bodies.
Elina Primus III[/u]
Planet: Elina Primus 3 (Matuyu) World class: Gas giant (small) Population: Barren Aestimare:
Of all the gas giants in the system, Matuy is most often observed from Elina. It is composed of hydrogen and helium.
Elina Primus IV[/u]
Planet: Elina Primus 4 (Curupira) World class: Dead world Population: Barren Aestimare:
Curupira is a dead world. It is a large rock with no atmosphere and nothing worth mining. Its surface is dented with countless craters from meteor impacts.
Elina Primus V[/u]
Planet: Elina Primus 5 World class: Asteroid belt Population: Barren Aestimare:
Elina Primus V is another rocky asteroid belt of no value. It is slightly larger than Elina Primus II.
Elina Primus VI[/u]
Planet: Elina Primus 6 (Hibagon) World class: Gas giant (large) Population: Barren Aestimare:
Hibagon is a colossal gas giant. It is composed hydrogen and helium.
Elina Primus VII[/u]
Planet: Elina Primus 7 (Sasquatch) World class: Gas giant (large) Population: Barren Aestimare:
Just like Hibagon, Sasquatch is a gas giant. Not quite as large as Hibagon, it is still very big. Sasquatch is also composed of hydrogen and helium.
Elina Primus VIII[/u]
Planet: Elina Primus 8 (Mu-Jimi) World class: Gas giant (small) Population: Barren Aestimare:
On the far reaches of the system lies the small gas giant called Mu-Jimi. It is composed of hydrogen and helium.
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:08:55 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Mar 15, 2005 17:11:22 GMT -5
Phew! That's what I've achieved so far. I still need to do the map, the glossary and the timeline, but I'll do it some other day. I'm off to bed now. But in the meantime, please tell me what you think. Any outright errors? Bad english (not my native tongue)? Anything.
|
|
|
Post by CELS on Mar 15, 2005 17:37:19 GMT -5
Well, I didn't check the data in the last post, but I've got to say that I'm very impressed. I have only a few minor comments. 1) Alcoholic beverages seem extremely common in the Anargo sector. Perhaps it would be interesting to see another form of legal drugs? 2) Under 'psychology', there is a bit of information that doesn't quite belong there. It is related, but I think it would be better put elsewhere. Lauri's Reach. 3) A bit of information about the various corporations would be useful, but you can put this in a future appendix, if you prefer. 4) Not too sure about the military warfare bit. I think the most important defense would be be laser turrets, because A) they're more accurate than ballistic and missile weapons in the strong winds and B) Once the enemy are inside your installation, you're probably screwed anyway. But, in conclusion; I'm happy. As soon as the other members have had a chance to slaughter your post, get ready to put it in the archives Oh, and nice picture ;D
|
|
|
Post by TheGlyphstone on Apr 27, 2005 7:03:37 GMT -5
I like it. Mining worlds are always neat, even if it's potential competition for Karnak. A few good concepts here that I might even steal.
Only one quibble, and it's not even a problem with the actual text. In the first paragraph of History, it says "the work was continued as Alpha Legion and its supporters were defeated". There's a missing "The" before Alpha Legion, and you might want to edit the "as" to an "after", depending on whether or not they began rebuilding while the war was still going on.
|
|
|
Post by HighInquisitor on Apr 27, 2005 10:11:33 GMT -5
|
|