The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Colonized Space

By J Alan Erwine

The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Colonized Space is a combination of the first six volumes of the Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica. It looks at each sector of space that is controlled by one of the six species. An invaluable supplement for anyone playing the Ephemeris Science Fiction Role Playing Game, especially those that have been looking for campaign settings for their games.

A useful tool for both players and game masters, this supplement will help elevate your Ephemeris game to the next level.

Before ordering, please keep in mind that this supplement contains the same information that was released individually in the EEG for sectors 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, & 21.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nomadic Delirium Press
• Release date: Mar 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311974143

J Alan Erwine

J Erwine was born Oct. 15, 1969 in Akron, Ohio. Early in his life he was exposed to science, and specifically astronomy. From there on, J's passion turned to science fiction, a passion that's never died. Due to family issues, J eventually found himself in Denver, Colorado, where he still lives (well, right outside now.) From the time he could put subject and predicate together on paper, J has been writing stories. None of those early stories exist anymore (thankfully), but that passion for writing has never waned. After several years of rejection, the story Trek for Life was eventually sold to ProMart Writing Lab editor James Baker. It wasn't Asimov's, but it was a start. Since that time J has sold more than forty short stories to various small press publishers. In addition ProMart also published a short story collection of J's entitled Lowering One's Self Before Fate, and other stories, which is still available. ProMart also published a novel from J entitled The Opium of the People, which sold a few copies before going out of print. The relevance of the novel after the events of September 11th caused J to self-publish the novel, as he felt the story had a lot to say in the new reality we now find ourselves living in. Now, this same book has been re-released by Nomadic Delirium Press. Eventually J would become an editor with ProMart. Then, after the untimely death of ProMart editor James Baker, J would move on to ProMart's successor Sam's Dot Publishing. J also spends most of his time working as a freelance writer and editor. J's novel was voted a top ten finisher in the 2003 annual Preditors & Editors contest, and his short story The Galton Principle won a ProMart contest for best story over 5,000 words. In addition, a number of his stories have been voted "best of" in various issue of The Martian Wave and The Fifth DI… and have been included in Wondrous Web Worlds Vols. 2, 3, 4, and 6. In 2009, the Ephemeris Role Playing Game was released. J is the co-creator of this game, and has written numerous supplements for the game. J has now sold three novels and four short story collections, all of which are still available from various sources, including Smashwords. J currently lives with his amazing wife, three wonderful children, three cats, and a very quiet turtle.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Colonized Space. This tome combines together each of the volumes that were previously published for sectors 3, 8, 9, 10, 13, & 21. All of the information provided in those volumes is also included here.

These six sectors are known as Colonized Space because they’re the sectors where the six known species originated. Each of these species has colonized in other sectors, but those sectors are not as well settled, and they’ll be dealt with in later volumes of the Encyclopedia.

INTRODUCTION TO SECTOR THREE

Welcome to The Ephemeris Encyclopedia Galactica: Sector Three, an examination of what is commonly known as Melanathee Space. The version you are reading is in the Human’s lingua franca. If you are not human, and would like to read it in your species’ native tongue, please consult a data bank on one of your species’ planets and download the appropriate version.

Since it’s assumed that you are human, the text in this volume of the Encyclopedia is laid out in a way that will be easy for you to understand. Each star system is listed by the name that your species calls it, and the listings are arranged in order from the closest to your home system out to the ones farthest from your home system. All distances are listed in light years, since that’s what you use on your homeworld.

It’s important to note that even though Sector Three is considered Melanathee space, that is not meant to imply that the Melanathee control the entire sector, although it’s certainly true that some of them think they do, maybe most of them. There are many star systems that are controlled by other species, or by organizations or corporations, or not controlled by anyone at all.

Although the listings here are extensive, they are not complete. We have only listed the inhabited and the interesting systems. There are certainly other stars that do not appear in this book, usually because no one is living there, or nothing interesting is there. And while these listings are extensive, it’s certainly possible that we, the researchers, have missed some important star systems. The universe is a big place after all.

Each listing in this text will follow this format:

System name (common name, if it exists), distance from Earth in light years, type of star(s). After this information, we will give you pertinent details about the planets, moons, and other objects in the system that are of importance.

(Editor’s notes: any information that is pertinent to the running of a game will appear like this. These types of things could be changes to a CS, or other modifications that you might need to make, or maybe just ideas that you could incorporate into your game. Not all systems will have these notes.)

Gliese 317: 29 ly, M3.5

The Gliese 317 system is a system of potential conflict. Although there have been small skirmishes, nothing too serious has happened yet. For more than a century, the Melanathee have had a colony on a moon orbiting a gas giant that sits just under one A.U. from the red dwarf. Three decades ago, Humans moved into the system, colonizing two other moons of the same gas giant. Even though Humans and Melanathee do not breathe the same types of atmosphere, and therefore shouldn’t need to fight over planets with one another, there have been debates over who should control the space around the gas giant. The Melanathee argue that they have been here longer, but the humans argue that they actually occupy two moons in the system. The other species have chosen to stay out of this one for now.

TolENtaMe is a small gaseous moon inhabited by the Melanathee. There are currently more than one million of them living on the moon. The settlement started out as a scientific colony, but has since expanded into a full colony, and because of the presence of humans in the system, there is a fairly large military base on the moon. The atmosphere is breathable for the Melanathee, although some of the less healthy will have trouble with it.

Ardith is the largest moon, and is currently occupied by a quarter of a million humans. The Earth military originally set up the colony, and even though they keep a large presence on the moon in order to protect the inhabitants, most of the planet is run by ExploraCorp, an Earth-based corporation with the mission of exploring and colonizing as much of near space as possible, and of course making a lot of money in the process. Although the actual air of the moon is dangerous for humans to breathe, the atmosphere is at a pressure and temperature that humans can walk on the surface with only breathers.

Rowena is a small moon with roughly 1,000 humans living on it. The moon has been set up as a research base to explore the small star at the center of the system. The surface has no atmosphere, and the entire colony has been built underground.

11 G Pyxus: 40 ly K0V

There are two planets in this system that are important to the Melanathee. MeTOneFO and MeTOneRO were two of the first colonies created outside of the Melanathee home system. They are the second and third planets in the system, and both have a thick atmosphere that is conducive to the Melanathee way of life. Both have been moderately engineered so that it is possible for the Melanathee to survive without suits on both planets, although they still need breathers on MeTOneRO because of a high level of cyanogen in the atmosphere. MeTOneFO has three billion inhabitants and MeTOneRO has two billion inhabitants. On each of the planets, roughly 10% of the populations are non-Melanathee, with most of them being Althani and Tulmath. Both planets are inhabited by a number of Melanathee corps, and the Althani and Tulmath corps can even be found here. The Melanathee maintain a very large military presence on both planets, and even though both planets maintain ties to the Melanathee home system, they are actually more closely allied with one another. Each planet also has political divisions on the planets themselves, and while most of these divisions are peaceful, they do sometimes boil over.

HD 69830: 41 ly K0V

This is the home system of the Melanathee. They evolved, or were uplifted, depending on who you talk to on a very cloudy moon orbiting the third planet, a gas giant that is too hostile even for the Melanathee. They have, however, terraformed a number of moons in the system to make them more hospitable to their needs.

TOmeJEkla: The homeworld of the Melanathee. This cloudy moon is home to more than 10 billion of their species. Since this is the homeworld of the Melanathee, it should be pretty obvious that they are capable of breathing the atmosphere without any problems.

TOmePEkla: This is the closest moon to the third planet. It was the first colony outside of their homeworld, and is currently home to three billion Melanathee. This moon has been terraformed to a point that the Melanathee can walk on the surface without the need of suits or breathers.

TOmeWEkla: This is the most distant moon from the third planet. Much of the Melanathee military is based on this moon, and it is currently home to almost one billion Melanathee. Even though it is possible for the Melanathee to walk on the surface of this moon without breathers or suits, most still bring breathers with them because more than an hour of exposure to the atmosphere can start to cause problems for their breathing, although a little native atmosphere quickly clears this up.

POmeLENta: This moon orbits the second planet in the system. It is a very hot moon that is tidal locked with the planet. More than half a billion very hearty Melanathee currently live on this moon in underground colonies. Of all of the Melanathee colonies throughout the galaxy, this one has the harshest atmosphere. As a result, the Melanathee living here have a much harder time forming their bodies. (Editor’s note: in game terms, it means they take an extra day to form, but as was stated, they are a hearty lot, and as a result, they receive an endurance bonus of +1). No matter how tough, no Melanathee can walk on the surface without breathers. (Editor’s note: only a Melanathee with an Endurance score of 9 or higher can walk on the surface without a suit.)

There is also a large asteroid field that orbits beyond the three planets. This asteroid field is heavily mined by both the Melanathee government and by a number of Melanathee corps. There are also several military bases hidden throughout the field. There is even a rumor that the Melanathee master criminal LOmeTENop has a base somewhere in the field. This, however, has never been confirmed…although there have been a number of ships that have never made it through the asteroid field, so one has to wonder.

HD 40307: 42 ly K2.5V

The sixth planet in this system, MElaTOverEN, is what humans call a super-Earth. It is much more massive than the Earth, but it does contain a thick atmosphere with liquid water. As a result, the Melanathee found a paradise. Next to their own homeworld, this planet is the most hospitable one they’ve colonized so far. The current population of the planet is just over six billion. Like most large population planets, this one features a mix of corps, a variety of governments, and lots of Melanathee trying to make a living.

Since this is such a luxurious planet for the Melanathee, they do not need to use breathers or suits when they’re on the surface.

171 G Puppis: 50 ly G0V

This star system has a lower abundance of metals than most systems in Sector 3, as a result, the Melanathee have had some difficulties colonizing this system. They’ve imported as much as they could, but eventually they lost interest in the system. As a result, the two colonies in this system are seen as being a backwater. The Melanathee in this system have split with the main governments, and have chosen to rule themselves. As a result, they are at least 100 years behind technologically. (Editor’s note: Buying anything on either of these colony worlds costs double what it would in civilization. And it’s also important to note that cybernetics and nanotechnology are outlawed everywhere in the system.)

WEteBA is the third planet in the system with a population of half a billion. Melanathee on this planet do not need to worry about breathers or suits.

WEteLA is the largest moon of the fourth planet in the system with a population of 200,000. Even though all of the structures on this planet are built on the surface, they are all airlock protected as the air is somewhat toxic to the Melanathee. Although they are able to walk on the surface without suits, they do need breathers, or they would suffer death within a few minutes of breathing the air.

60 G Puppis: 53 ly G3V

When the Melanathee first reached this system nearly 500 years ago, they thought they’d hit a goldmine (or at least their equivalent). The system had two planets and a moon that needed only a little modification to make them more or less completely hospitable. The Melanathee corps spent a lot of money to help colonize these worlds, and they still have a lot of say as to what goes on in this system.

BEweNEtoLA is the second planet in the system. It is currently inhabited by four billion Melanathee.

BEweNEtoHA is the fifth planet in the system, and is currently inhabited by three billion Melanathee.

BEweVEto is the largest moon orbiting the fourth planet and is currently inhabited by one billion Melanathee.

The Melanathee living on any of these colonies do not need to use breathers or suits when they’re on the surface. Some have even argued that these planets and moon are so hospitable to the Melanathee that they must have been modified by whatever species uplifted the Melanathee…if you believe the uplift ever even happened that is.

I Carinae: 53 ly F2IV

The supergiant star in this system has made most of the system inhospitable. As a result, the Melanathee have established a small research station housing about 2,000 in the Oort Cloud. In addition, there are also two large military stations in the Oort Cloud. They are used mostly to launch missions to protect trading ships between the local stars, although some, especially the Arbonix, have said that they’re building a fleet for invasion, although the Arbonix don’t actually say who they think the Melanathee might be preparing to invade. Nor do they have any evidence.

69 G Carinae: 53 ly G2V

From the outside, this star system looks perfect for colonization, but there is something very wrong in the 69 G Carinae system. The Melanathee, the Arbonix, and the Humans have all tried to establish colonies in this system. All of those colonies have been destroyed, and no one has been able to figure out why. There are rumors of angry cyber wizards, some unknown civilization, quantum instabilities, hyperspace intrusions, and thousands of other less likely reasons. Not only have the colonies been destroyed, but most ships passing through this system are destroyed. Some of the ones that have made it through the system have reported strange lights, problems with their engines, and all kinds of system malfunctions. Most sentients won’t even venture near the system anymore.

At the moment, there are no sentients living in the system…at least that we know of.

(Editor’s note: we encourage you to have all kinds of fun with this system. Just be sure to keep it within the rules.)

9 Puppis: 54 ly G2V

This is a binary star system with the two stars orbiting fairly close together, going around one another in just over 23 Earth years.