The Battleground

“Auspex return sir! We’re getting the salvation beacon now... we have confirmation! The beacon matches that of the Emperor’s Bounty, sir!”
–Sensorium officer Gibbs of the Sovereign Venture
One of the most well-known (and tragic) Stations of Passage,
the Battleground is a vast area of becalmed space over 300,000
kilometers in diameter, filled with floating wreckage, junk, and
detritus of war in orbit around a young star. According to ancient
legend, this area was the site of a great space battle between
the Rogue Trader brothers Trame and Ettimus Lathimon,
who fought to mutual destruction. However, other tales
maintain that this field of ship wreckage was ancient
before the brothers’ arrival. These theories are
supported by the wreckage found in the
Battleground. While the vast majority of it is Imperial, there are
wrecked ships deep within the field that are not.
Nearly every crew that passes through these parts has
a tale as to what happened here, many of them regarding
events that occurred long before Rogue Traders began their
exploration of the Koronus Expanse.
==The Brothers Lathimon==
Trame and Ettimus were always rivals. From the day they were
each given their own ship to expand their family’s dynasty, they
competed and sought to outdo one another. Eventually, insult
mounted upon insult, and they sought to end this tireless rivalry
with a duel of ships. Each brother amassed a massive fleet and
chose the Battleground to be their field. Massive munitions were
launched, and scores of fighter craft and boarding torpedoes
crossed the silent void to collide with massive macro shells
and shafts of boiling plasma. Ships exploded and detonated
with reactor breeches, and others simply drifted off; holed into
lifelessness, the crew killed instantly by explosive decompression.
Eventually, only the two brothers remained; each aboard
their command ships, staring out across the debris-filled void
at one another. Though their ships had been damaged, they
could still fight. The stories continue to say that the two paused
for a moment in stand-off, each daring the other to make the
first move that would be sure to end in the annihilation of them
both. No one can say which brother that was, but all that was
found when other ships visited the battleground were drifting
clouds of radioactive debris and munitions. It is likely both
brothers perished, and their fleets with them.
==Salvaging the Cloud==
There is some value to be found within the detritus of space
debris floating in the region. For centuries, Rogue Traders
have taken up cover within the cloud to affect repairs on their
ships that were damaged, or to simply wait out the storms so
they can continue their journey across the Maw. One wonders
then why these great worthies haven’t sought to salvage what
they could from this massive field of materials.
The truth is that many have tried, and indeed some have
found great success in doing so. However, the wealth that can
be exploited from the Koronus Expanse makes the paltry debris
in the Battleground pale in comparison. It’s far more profitable
to set up mining operations within the Expanse than it is to
simply pick over the dead bones of Rogue Traders past. Yet,
this doesn’t stop new Rogue Traders from trying---thinking
that they can recover more wealth in these parts than they
would be able to elsewhere. Usually, they end up becoming
part of the cloud themselves, either through carelessness or the
predations of other Battleground scavengers.
==Using the Battleground: Salvage Endeavor==
Lesser Endeavour, +1 Profit
Game Masters can establish an endeavor for the
Explorers that are wishing to attempt to salvage the
Battleground. This is no small feat as other Rogue
Traders may feel that the Explorers are encroaching on
their rightful claim to the massive cloud of debris. The
Game Master is encouraged to set up the Endeavour. The
GM should keep in mind, however, that this should
be a more difficult Endeavour than the Profit Factor
awards would indicate, and should require long hours
sifting through the wreckage to find valuable salvage. In
addition, successful Rogue Traders regard salvaging the
Battleground with disdain, a sign that one is either newly
come into his Warrant or does not know how to use it. If
the Rogue Trader’s Profit Factor is over a certain amount
(roughly 40 or so), the GM could give him the reputation
of a rag-picker or scavenger amongst his peers.