Al'Vadnis World

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Official UFPDOCA Colony Entry: Al'Vadnis World

• Colony Name: Al'Vadnis World
• Creator: James Braun (paytenl@cadvision.com)

GEOGRAPHY

• System/Location: Second Planet of the Rigellius Novum system, bordering Orion space

• Distance to nearest Starbase: 24 days to SB KAPPA

• Planet Classification: K-Class. Al'Vadnis World was considered M-Class until 2150, by which point the ecology had been so ravaged by industry and warfare that most of the surface was virtually uninhabitable. The Al'Vadni government has constructed climate-controlled domes over the cities, insulating them from the noxious elements. It is not considered safe to venture into rural areas unprotected for more than a day.

• Satellites/Space Stations: Two orbital docking pads, stationed in geosynchronous orbit above the poles. An orbital defense station, owned and manned by the Al'Vadni government. A subspace comm array consisting of a satellite net in low planetary orbit.

• Land/Water Ratio: 45%/55%

• Climate controlled: Yes. The once idyllic ecosystems of Al'Vadnis World have been devastated by industrial plunder and successive conquests by the Rigellians and Orion. Envirionmental reclamation efforts were abandoned in 2141, replaced by a program of envirionmental control in urban areas. Due to a host of ecological problems too numerous to mention, the rural parts of the planet are still barely habitable.

• Native Sentient Life: Al'Vadni recorded in his journal the presence of a pecies of "social jellyfish" which inhabited the inland sea near his settlement. Although these creatures were long extinct before anyone could be bothered to do a xenozoological survey, many people now believe these creatures may well have been sentient.

COLONY INFORMATION

• Colony Age: 560 years

• Population: 3 000 000 000. The population is in slow decline; the birth rate is almost non-existant, immigration making for most of the replacement.

• Species Present:
  • Rigellian 30%
  • Orion 22%
  • Cardassian 11%
  • Andorian 8%
  • Gorn 8%
  • Human 5%
  • Naussican 4%
  • Ferengi 4%
  • Other 7%

• Colony Status: Indpendant. The Al'Vadni government unilaterally declared itsef sovereign from the Federation in 2136; in spite of UFP diplomatic protests, no military expedition was ever sent to reclaim the world.

• Government: Police dictatorship. The Al'Vadni planetary government ordered it's own dissolution and the institution of martial law under the militia in 2134. Martial law persists to this day, under the supreme authority of the Al'Vadni Police Commissioner.

• Major Cities/Settlements:
  • Al'Vadni Bay(capitol): 34 000 000
  • Fort Rigel: 30 000 000
  • Eeomoliv: 26 000 000
  • Creastix: 26 000 000
  • Aoxomoxoa: 24 000 000
  • Z'drami: 24 000 000
  • Dlumion: 20 000 000

History:

The first settlers on Al'Vadnis World were the marooned surivors of a Rigellian survey expedition, led by Draivic Al'Vadni. In 1856, his ship was caught in an ion storm and was forced to land on the planet. Unable to make repairs, the 50 or so colonists founded the Al'Vadni Bay settlement.

Al'Vadnis journal describes the planet as an idyllic, pristine wilderness, a natural paradise. Unfortunately, the shipwrecked crew was ill-prepared for settlement; the primitive conditions claimed many lives. When another Rigellian expedition entered the system some sixty years later, all they found were the ruins of Al'Vadni Bay and it's namesakes journal.

The planet was officially christened Al'Vadnis World in honour of it's heroic first governor, and a new Al'Vadni Bay settlement was built on the foundations of the old.

Strategically positioned between the newly-discovered Shrevashal homeworld and the galaxy's commercial center, Al'Vadnis World soon became a popular stop-over on the slave run. Al'Vadni Bay grew up as a slave market, spawning a large hospitality industry which later carried the colony after the Orion slave trade dried up.

The end of the Orion slave trade marked the beginning of troubles for the colony. The local economy made the transition from slavery to tourism easily enough, but Orion expansionism led the Shrevashal to make overtures towards the Rigellius Novum system. An increasingly bold pirate fleet disrupted trade and frightened off tourism; later, Al'Vadnis World fell prey to the Orion navy.

The Orion immediately began stripping the planet's resources bare; grouped in massive labour camps, the captured Rigellian colonists strip mined and logged their world into near-oblivion. The Orion pirates found the world particularly favourable to their interests, her location made it a perfect headquarters for striking at the galactic trade routes. The Orion held the colony for eighteen years, until the outbreak of war in 2132.

When Rigel recovered the colony, they found it a barren wasteland, littered with the scars of strip mining and crude processing plants which had pumped tonnes of noxious chemicals into the atmosphere. The reclamation process would be enormous; for four years, the Rigel government shipped her political dissidents and criminals out to the colony to assist in cleaning up the envirionment. Fort Rigel was constructed, housing a small garrison of ground forces to assist in defense.

In 2136, the Orion made one final push in an attempt to reclaim the world; the Rigellian military opted to retreat and abandon the colony. A hastily-organized militia effort scrambled to defend the planet, however; after a six-month seige the Orions withdrew.

According to the treaty which ended the Orion's war with the Federation, Al'Vadnis World was deemed a UFP protectorate. However, the planet's large Orion minority and number of anti-Federation Rigellian dissidents made it difficult to establish a UFP presence.

After her dissolution in 2136, the colonial government was never restored. A trumped-up pro-UFP demonstration(and subsequent riot) only gave the militia extra reason to keep martial law in effect, a state which persists to this day.

But while security for the colony seemed guaranteed, Al'Vadnis World faced crippling economic and envirionmental problems. The UFP imposed economic sanctions on the colony prohibiting trade(although this meant little in practise; the colony had scarce industrial capabilities and virtually nothing in the way of natural resources) in an attempt to starve the militia dictatorship out of office. In a desperate bid to attract commerce, the militia introduced it's corporate license program; for a fee, a company could purchase a license to do business on the planet, and would enjoy considerable legal immunity.

Mercenaries, organized crime figures, smugglers and spies came from all over the Quadrant to set up shop, people for whom the trade blockade was meaningless anyway, and who valued the colony's laissez-faire way of doing things over it's political troubles. Revenues from the licenses made the colony one of the richest, if not the most hospitable, worlds in Federation space; the government was soon able to modernize their defense forces and establish a standing navy to defend the system from unwelcome intruders. Powerful friends were bought in the Romulan senate, who convinced the Praetor to issue a guarantee of the planet's neutrality.

Economy:

Due to the often transient nature of Al'Vadnis population, a number of currencies are acceptedin trade, depending on who you're talking to. Latinum, naturally, is the most widely accepted, but just about any currency from a spacefaring power is likely to be recognized by someone.

Little exists in the way of "legitimate" exports on Al'Vadnis World, irresponsible resource management by previous governments have left the planet barren and unsuitable for a competitive manufacturing center.

The backbone of the economy comes from piracy, providing jobs for a third of the population and the importation of most of the consumer goods. Trade treaties exist with the Romulan and Cardassian governments, importing food and the remainder of the necessities of life not immediately available to the populace.

Cities like Aoxomoxoa and Eeomoliv, too, have developed enormous casino and nightclub districts, providing outrageous entertainment for spacers. Aoxomoxoa in particular is renowned for it's sex trade, one of the few places in the galaxy where Orion "slave" women are still available for an evening's entertainment.

The government collects no taxes, relying instead on the licensing fees to maintain revenue.

Tech Level:

Modern. Al'Vadnis pure research sector is understandably absent; most of the technology on the planet has been bought or stolen from a variety of sources. Klingon, Romulan, Cardassian, Orion, Ferengi, and even Iconian devices supplement UFP technology, cobbled together in ways that would baffle their designers. Occassionally, too, a device of origin unknown to anyone finds it's way into the melange.

Culture:

Life on Al'Vadnis World is typically fast-paced, cosmopolitan, and high-risk. The population is overwhelmingly urbanized; the rural areas are universally semi-frozen desert choking in thick clouds of smog and locked in perpetual twilight. The domed cities offer the most comfort and protection against the elements.

As the police force is dedicated more to protecting it's own interests than those of the citizenry, the crime rate is exceeedingly high. Murder, mugging, and a host of other violent acts against the common citizen are rampant; the only people who enjoy a certain protection are the commercial license owners.

Business conducts itself according to the harshest rules of the market economy: all is fair and nothing is illegal. Narcotics, weapons and prostitution are all legitimate and lucrative industries, making up the largest share of consumer goods purchased by the natives. The casinos and nightclubs dot the cityscapes and are perpetually full.

Al'Vadnis World never sleeps, the entire planet runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a standard year. There are reports that suggest only a third of the population has any notion of a calender, and a tenth doesn't even pay attention to the time. In poorer sections of the planet, homeless street urchins behave almost as animals insulated in technocracy.

Notes:

I thought it might help to list some influences in creating this planet. Among others, I think it holds flavours of _Logan's_Run_, _Max_Headroom_ and _Blade_Runner_, with some elements of Kafka woven throughout. Using any of those sources ought to help set the intended atmosphere.