Shakspar

An ancient binary star system somewhere in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, the trials and tribulations and endless machinations of the factions within this system make Shakspar a hotbed of clandestine and overt activity.

## History

Shaksparan History is dense, and long. The short version is often divided into five distinct ages, across the centuries and millennia.

*800+ Years Ago (Unknown - 4,200 U):* **The Ancient Past.** The Shakspar System formed from unknown means, probably as a protoplanetary disk, similar to the accretion that led to the formation of Sol and Earth. Once life began to evolve on the moon of the second planet out from the star, it gradually coalesced into the sapient beings known as the Egregorians. They developed their own distinct and extensive culture, and grew to live in harmony with their planet. All of this changed with the Coming of Man.

*800-500 Years Ago (4,200 U - 4,500 U):* **The First Colonial Period.** The Shakspar system is leased to the Baronic House of Scales from Union, for settlement and development. Aerial is settled and made fully self-sufficient, with the ice world Othello and the ocean world Hamlet being made dependent on Aerial. When Settlers to the moon now known as Juliet arrive, they discover the alien beings known as the Egregorians. When the Egregorians go to war amongst themselves, the House of Scales panics and calls the Union Navy to restore order. Union instead undertakes a campaign of genocide against the Egregorians, and the Hercynians. The fall of SecComm stops this.

*500-200 Years Ago (4,500 U - 4,800 U):* **The Long Exile.** With Union having taken the fleet of the House of Scales, they possess no way to resupply the colonies of Othello and Hamlet. Radio traffic chronicles the slow descent of those colonies into desperation, murder, insanity, and eventually cannibalism. The trauma and responsibility of the House of Scales is felt so acutely that all contact with the wider Galaxy is severed, and all records of the tragedies are erased. In the modern day, only distant memories of the revolt remain. Abandoned and alone on Hercynia, the Egregorians and Humans reach detente, and settle as refugees in the underground hive cities of the Egregorians.

*200-50 Years Ago (4,800 U - 4,953 U):* **The Second Colonial Period**. Contact is, eventually, reestablished with the system and the House of Scales. Union, under Third Committee, is eager to right past wrongs, and so offers to work with the House of Scales and Aerial to take another crack at settling Shakspar. The House of Scales agrees, and soon colonies (self-sufficient this time) spring up on Othello, Hamlet, and the newly discovered to be habitable Romeo. Peace is secured for one hundred years, but in 4,907 U, the brother of Baron Leto Archon assassinates him. So begins a slow and protracted slide into corruption and authoritarianism, and by the time Union finishes building the massive Blink Gate to link Shakspar to the wider Galaxy, a whole sale plague of piracy erupts.

*50 Years Ago to Present Day (4,953 U - 5,016 U)*: **The Rim War**. Long suffering under the autocratic and disinterested hand of Leto Archon’s eldest daughter, the Othellans needed little opportunity to revolt. Though minor actions had been organized against their colonial masters, it was only when a crash SecComm Ship was discovered in the idea of Othello, sporting an arsenal of primitive and powerful Mecha, that Revolution truly became possible. Using these machines, and retrofitting the trade fleet of Othello to their purpose, the rebels deemed themselves to be the Unchained Fleets of Othello, first working to liberate themselves from the House of Scales, but quickly devolving into brutal pirates, reavers, and bandits. Preying upon whomever those chose in the Shakspar system, their proliferation became so extensive, and their brutality so infamous, that the conflict to stop them was deemed the Rim War. However, their support of the Calibani, and often the Othellan Rebels, left Union incredibly hesitant to directly confront them, lest the House of Scales retaliate against the innocents seeking freedom. It was only when a terrible massacre was perpetrated that Union fully acted, assembling a fleet to crush the pirates in a decisive blow. Though the blow was supposedly struck, the Union fleet was nearly crippled, with numerous ships severely mauled, necessitating a hasty return to Shakspar’s Blink Gate. Unbeknownst to the Navy though, they had failed to destroy the Pirates, and just as the Navy transits through the Gate, and our Player Characters arrive on the Station, the Pirates strike.

## Geography

*(See also: Shakspar Planets)*

Shakspar possesses two suns: the yellow sun Shakspar, and it’s red dwarf partner Titania. Around these stars orbit five planets: Hamlet, Romeo, Othello and Prospero around Shakspar, and Oberon around Titania. Around Romeo orbits the moon Juliet, while Prospero has three moons: Aerial, Miranda, and Caliban. In addition to these bodies, many sundry and common asteroids and meteorites orbit the stars and planets of the Shakspar system.

## Sub-Locations

Hamlet - Hurricane wracked Ocean World of Shakspar. With no solid surface, settlements on Hamlet must be either in the extreme ocean depths of the planet (the Anchor Cities), or floating on the surface (the Drift Nations). The Anchor Cities are the stronghold of Harrison Armory, while the Drift Nations are fiercely loyal to Union. Originally settled during the First Colonial Period, the churning ocean surface has left no trace of the first settlers. The inhabitants of this world are named the **Hamleti.**

Romeo - Shakspar’s only truly temperate planet, Romeo is infamous for its thin and often poisonous high atmosphere. Breathable air only accumulates in the vast and deep network of equatorial canyons, ravines, valleys, and rifts. In this haven, numerous cities have sprung up, pursuing an idyllic and peaceful existence under the Federated Cities of Romeo. The inhabitants of this world are known as **Romeons**.

Juliet - Originally settled during the First Colonial Period of Shakspar, the Moon of Romeo was first named Hercynia, and it was on this planet that the alien species known as the Egregorians were discovered. When a war among the Egregorians erupted, Union’s Second Committee worked to exterminate every native to the planet, only failing when revolution gripped Union itself. The planet was abandoned… and in its depths, May still be found the Egregorians, and their human allies. Juliet has only one settlement known to the wider galaxy though, a small colony not twenty years old. The older inhabitants of this world call themselves the **Hercynians**.

Paris Stations - In high, stable orbit above Romeo, lingers the Paris Stations. A vast collection of inhabited O’Neill Cylinders, these space stations form an orbital Lagrange Colony above the planet, and a nation unto themselves. Owed and operated by Smith-Shimano, these colonies work to present themselves as idyllic little utopias, but lack the freedoms of Romeo itself.

Othello - Far from the sun of Shakspar, Othello seemed doomed from the very beginning to be nothing but a cold, barely habitable backwater world. It was only when vast supplies of metals were discovered in the subsurface that the Barons saw fit to place a colony on the world during the First Colonial Period. Totally dependent upon the Barons for resupply and survival, Othello withered and died when Union took the Shakspar fleet. To this day, the depths of Othello house the preserved ruins and habitations of the first colonists. The second wave of colonists, under Baroness Karen Archon, are in full revolt. Because the Baroness is a Karen. The inhabitants of this world call themselves the **Othellans**.

Prospero - The only Gas Giant of Shakspar, Prospero has little to offer its admirers. A dirty red orb floating through the void, only scant gas derricks dot its inner atmosphere, harvesting exotic elements to send to Aerial. This planet is notable for having three moons, two of which are habitable: Aerial, Miranda, and Caliban.

Aerial - The Capitol of Baronic influence in Shakspar, and the only other continuously inhabited planet since the First Colonial Period, Aerial is a moon of Prospero, filled with deep oceans and tall mountains. With exceptional mineral wealth, the planet has built itself up to be a wealthy, energetic hub of experimentation and industry. All that holds it back is the strict, clear, and destructive Class divide between the Nobles of the House of Scales, and the Ignoble Masses. The inhabitants of this world have named themselves the **Arias**.

Caliban - The Last and the Least of all inhabited worlds of Shakspar, Caliban is the foreboding inner moon of Prospero. Incredibly volcanic due to gravitational influences of his sister moons and Prospero, Caliban’s only claim to fame is a moderately warm climate, a fairly breathable atmosphere, and abundant mineral wealth on the moon’s surface. Making their home on this world are intrepid and rugged exiles and renegades from Aerial, who sell their black market ore to anyone who is willing to buy, and lately, that has been the Pirates of Shakspar. The dwellers, settlers, and wanderers of this moon have deemed themselves the **Calibani**.

St Helen’s Station - The Blink Gate of the Shakspar System, St Helen’s Station orbits at one of Prospero’s Lagrange Points. Nestled in an incredibly stable orbital pattern, St Helen’s Station has remained neutral territory, and one of the few places untouched by the Rim War. That will all change though, should the Pirates achieve their goal of destroying the station.

## Culture

*(See also: Shakspar Factions)*

The consequence of hundreds of years of settlement, resettlement, conflict, pressures, and migration will inevitably a complex and blended culture. To describe Shakspar as having a singular cultural identity would be incorrect, but certain themes do recur through the various groups and factions that call the binary star system home. Ideas of opportunity, possibility, and a bright future predominate, be it under the burning skies of Caliban or across the trackless seas of Hamlet. Though the details differ, the belief remains the same: in Shakspar, you can make your own future.

That said, cultural divides exist, and remain firmly entrenched. The most overt is the separation between Shakspar’s inner and outer worlds: the divide between the the Sunborn, and the Nightborn.

### The Nightborn: Sons and Daughters of Aerial

The Aria People are of Baronic heritage, and were the second wave of settlers to the planet Othello and the moon Caliban. Their beliefs are long entrenched, focusing on ideas of noblesse oblige, respecting your betters while protecting your lessers, and presenting your best, finest self to all outsiders. The descendants of Aria are largely defined by a hierarchical worldview: either their embrace of the notion, or a rejection of it.

During the First Colonial Period, the ideas of hierarchy and the strict divide of nobility and ignobility were deeply engrained, and historians ascribe to that cultural rigidity the failure of the Shakspar Project in those halcyon days. The Long Exile is seen (by some) as a golden age of civil liberties, where long divisions like the segregation of the High and Low Baronic languages were overcome. Others view this period as a sorrowful decadence: a society mired in guilt and letting itself go. It’s undeniable that Aria society was more equitable during this period, but whether this was a good thing is a cultural debate rather than a historical one.

The ideas of nobility and ignobility, of division of rank and importance, experienced a brief resurgence at the end of the Long Exile. The arrival of Union brought many cultural moderates great pangs of fear, for whom submission to Union was equivalent to a death of their cultural heritage and identity. The suppression of these fears and the continued liberalization of Aria culture was the great project of Leto Archon, but it was precisely this liberal attitude that saw him assassinated by his power hungry brother Vladimir.

In the modern age, a majority of Aria hold the belief of a natural hierarchy in the world: there are the nobles who are good and strong, and the ignoble many must be shepherded to safety and peace. While this view may seem antithetical to the rebels of Othello, it’s only on Caliban that the ideals of liberty, equality, and personal worth are truly embraced. After all, most settlers of Caliban were already criminals, so why worry about a little more criminality?

Eight centuries of life, three in isolation, have led to significant linguistic drift. The Aria peoples, settled on Caliban, Aerial, and Othello, speak a dialect of Baronic known as Shaks Karrakin.

### The Sunborn: Union and the Armory.

In the year 4,803 U, a Union Far Field Team arrived in the Shakspar System, having determined that the binary contained potentially habitable planets. It was a shock to arrive on Aerial and discover a developed Diasporan world in the hands of a Baronic House, and more to recover the scant records Union possessed of the system. Rapidly, contact was established with Aerial, and an influx of settlers from Union space arrived in system, along with Harrison Armory.

Union came to Shakspar with the desire to convert the inner worlds into productive slices of Paradise, leasing the ocean depths of Hamlet to Harrison Armory and claiming the world of Romeo and its moon Juliet. The settlers of these worlds rapidly worked towards bringing the planets up to the Post Scarcity Standard of Union proper. Having been divorced from the drama of the First Colonial Period, Union sees the cultural chauvinism of the Aria as guilt motivated overcompensation, and presents themselves as bright eyed optimists hoping to take beautiful worlds and settle them in the name of the Utopian Pillars.

Relentlessly egalitarian and democratic, the Union settlers hold a mild pity for the Aria, coupled with slight frustration over the isolation they impose upon themselves in-system. This frustration became more pronounced as the Rim War began, with more radical elements on Romeo arguing that the destructive practices of social stratification that the House of Scales practices are at the heart of the conflict. These radical elements are surprisingly joined by voices from Harrison Armory, whose anthrochauvinist elements saw the potential conflict between Union and the House of Scales as a potential wrench in their efforts of expansion and development of Hamlet, but now treat the piratical elements as the greater overall threat, and oppose the House on that principle.

As Union settlers, the people of the inner planets speak Union Common, a Saxo-Roman language… basically, English.