A to Z: K is for Kamperel

Kamperel is a system in My Traveller Universe, the RimWorlds Sector. Kamperel and the Kamperelian Republic are one of those little quirks that get thrown up by random system generation, and then take on a life of their own when a little thought is applied.

The Kamperelian Republic is a three-system polity near the centre of Miazan Subsector, consisting of the systems of Kamperal, Floranna and Ektra. Once member worlds of the Imperium, Kamperel and its two subject systems now refuse to recognise the authority of either the Subsector Duke of Miazan, or the Sector Duke. As the population of Kamperel numbers a large percentage of the total population of the Subsector, the House Geyukthi Subsector Dukes of Miazan have not been able to muster the resources to bring Kamperel to heel.

So, how did this situation come about?

Kamperel, Floranna and Ektra make up the Kamperel Cluster – a group of stars within one parsec of each other and separated by at least two parsecs from all neighbouring systems. This makes their location fairly strategic because all trade moving through the subsector is either obliged to move through Kamperelian space, or divert around it, adding many weeks to transit times.

Kamperel is a small, poor, dry world with a very thin atmosphere, a population in the 10s of billions, and a Tech Level of 11 – low interstellar. Ektra is a small, desert world with a very thin tainted atmosphere, a population in the low millions and a Tech Level of 8. Floranna is an average-sized water world with a standard, tainted atmosphere, a population in the millions and a Tech Level of 12. One thing all three systems share is that their populations live in sealed environments. Otherwise, there was not a lot to distinguish them from any number of other systems.

In my notes on the history of the RimWorlds, there was a mysterious entry, “1032 Cessation of the Rivokul War”. What I had originally intended by that entry, I no longer remember. During late 2007/early 2008, as I was creating my Traveller website and working up the Library Data, I decided upon this:

“House Rivokul, as retainers of the Geyukthi Dukes of Miazan Subsector, had been Siridar-Barons of Kamperel/Miazan since the middle of the 10th Century. Outrageously corrupt, they had mercilessly exploited the huge population of their small, poor world. While the 3rd Outrim War was at its height, clandestine shipments of arms from the Outrim Alliance began reaching the People’s Justice Army of Kamperel. For eighteen months in 1031 – 32 the People’s Justice Army took on House Rivokul’s brutal mercenary guardsmen, fighting for control of the factories and tower blocks of Kamperel. A young Torvor Van Zaquerl, barely nineteen years old, personally led a team that penetrated House Rivokul’s fortress-palace where the entire family, and their retainers, were summarily executed.

"By the time Sector Duke Yuri Sehlemarl had concluded the 3rd Outrim War in 1038, a republican government headed by Torvor Van Zaquerl was firmly established on Kamperel. As most of House Geyukthi, who had supported House Rivokul, or at least turned a blind eye to their misdeeds, had perished in the Outrim War, there was little political will to overturn the new administration on Kamperel, provided it remained loyal to the Imperium and its appointed representative, the Sector Duke.”

So, a throw-away line in a note book had become a fully fledged event, with personalities and links to outside events.

During the 3rd Outrim War, Outrim Alliance raiders penetrated through much of Miazan Subsector. As Alliance ground forces were faring poorly against Imperial garrisons – lacking both the numbers and the technology to take planets with any decent-sized population – Alliance Command switched to the alternate tactic of arming and encouraging local resistance and revolutionary movements in an effort to force Imperial Forces to spread out to protect their hinterland. House Rivokul, already corrupt and hated by their subjects, was a prime contender for this tactic.

The Kamperelian Republic remained quiescent after the Outrim War, while extending their economic domination over their near neighbour, Ektra. In 1051, the Ektrans turned on the Kamperelian Merchant Factors on-planet and sacked their compounds. Torvor Van Zaquerl, now “Governor” of Kamperal, dispatched six Kamperelian Cruisers and an invasion force against Ektra. After a savage bombardment, the Ektrans surrendered to Kamperel and have been garrisoned ever since.

Kamperel remained neutral during the 4th Outrim War of 1080 – 85, but one of Marc Van Zaquerl’s first acts as Governor, upon succeeded his father Torvor in 1082, was to launch a sudden attack on Floranna. Under the guise of securing the Kamperel Cluster against Outrim raiders, Van Zaquerl’s task force caught the Florannese SDB flotilla unprepared and destroyed them. The sub aquatic domed cities of Floranna held out against the Kamperelians for another twenty months, but were eventually forced to surrender.

In the aftermath of the Outrim War, Imperial authorities in Miazan Subsector were, once again, in such a weakened state that apart from lodging a protest with the Sector Ducal Court they, once more, acquiesced with the fait accompli they had been presented with.

In the subsequent 30 years, relations between the Subsector Duchy and the Kamperelians have been cool.

One interesting effect of the topography that the Kamperelian armed forces operate in is that they are one of the few militaries to have developed walker technology beyond humanoid droids. Wheeled traffic has never really developed on any of the three main worlds of the Cluster. Both the sub aquatic cities of Floranna and the warrens of Ektra are effectively closed-in tunnel environments, very similar to the megacity sprawl of Kamperel’s inhabited zone in that they are three-dimensional mazes designed for human access only. Vehicular transportation for the Kamperelian military is limited to Power Armour or Walkers as these can cope with the narrow access halls, staircases and lift shafts.

Revised Trade Map

The Trade Map redraw I decided upon last post, due to me inadvertently routing a major trade route through a dead system, is done. It is quite a discipline, when fixing trade routes, to keep within the Jump-2 parameters as “obvious” routes, as charted by X-Boats and military traffic, suddenly become unavailable. Systems such as Yuar/Cabria, providing a J-3 route across the Uedhkinthuez nakhae, begin to stand out as strategic choke points as the additional cost of either break bulking onto a J-3 carrier, or hiring a berth on a J-3 capable Carryall, outweighs the additional weeks required to transit around the end of such a Rift.

The Anthorann/Gamelea – Anar/Lymethius J-3 route is a product of the lack of refuelling in Nearo System. There is sufficient trade out-bound from the Gamelea Cluster towards the Geithurian Republic to keep J-3 haulers running between Anthorann and Anar. These haulers have also, in times of war, been quickly converted to Fleet Auxilaries so there may actually be an element of Sector Fleet sponsorship of this particular trade.

The Faiwawhwe/Lymethius – Jul’ni/Lymethius J-3 route is pretty much guaranteed by the Faiwawhwe – Appaer trade. The B-Class Starport at Jul’ni draws the faster ships away from the long haul through the Evikkim and Hiona Systems, though the bulk of the Spinward-bound trade from the Gamelea Cluster, and Coreward trade out of Miazan Subsector, still takes the longer route.

The Celephais/Miazan – Tonivar/Cabria J-3 route is a product of politics. In reality, the Rimward trade from Celephais invariably routes through Ektra in the Kamperalian Republic, while the Rimward/Spinward trade crosses into Cabria Subsector via Kalar-Wi space. The Celephais – Tonivar route is an attempt by Imperial authorities to keep Imperial trade within Imperial borders, rather than making the potential loss of trade a factor in ensuring peace beyond the borders.

Accidents in Astrogation – Miazan Subsector #1

Lying Rimward of Gamelea Subsector, Miazan Subsector contains two stellar constellations and a small scattering of stars along the edge of the Rimward Deep. The Miazan Main runs Rimward along the Spinward edge of the Miazan Subsector from the Tonivar Cluster in Cabria Subsector to Hydrot, while the Kamperel Cluster dominates the Coreward centre of the subsector.

Miazan Subsector contains seventeen systems with a total population of 65.6777 billion sophonts. The highest population, A, is at Kamperel, and the highest Tech Level, D, is at Golus and Janda. Twelve of the seventeen systems are members of the Imperium, the three systems of the Kamperelian Cluster are members of the Kamperelian Republic, and the systems of Lithia and Huop are non-aligned.

House Rivokul, loyal retainers of the House Geyukthi Dukes of Miazan, had been Siridar-Barons of Kamperel/Miazan since the middle of the 10th Century. Outrageously corrupt, they mercilessly exploited the enormous population of their small, poor, world. During the 3rd Outrim War (1025 – 1038) the Outrim Alliance smuggled arms to various resistance groups on Kamperel and a popular uprising, known as the Rivokul War, broke out in 1031. After a bitter 18-month struggle, the People’s Justice Army of Kamperel emerged victorious as the dominant rebel faction, House Rivokul’s Mercenary force had been smashed, and all members of House Rivokul had been executed.

By the time the 3rd Outrim War had been concluded in 1038, House Geyukthi was in decline, a new Sector Duke was on the throne, the People’s Justice Army ruled Kamperel with an iron fist, and the Van Zaquerl family was in total control of the People’s Justice Army. Within fifty years, Kamperel had gained control of Ektra and Floranna, the other two systems in the Kamperel Cluster, while relationships with the Imperium continued to sour.

During the 4th Outrim War (1080 – 85), the Kamperelian Republic sided with the Outrim Alliance, effectively paralysing the Miazan Subsector Fleet until the Kalar-Wi Navy smashed the main Outrim Alliance force at the Battle of Anthorann in 1085. Since the war, most trade traffic from Gamelea Subsector has been rerouted via the Kalar-Wi and Tonivar Clusters to avoid Kamperelian space. Relations with Kamperel thawed enough to provide an alternate route during the Kalar-Wi War (1103 – 1105) but most regular shippers still prefer the Kalar-Wi/Tonivar route for Jump-2 ships.

Merchants wishing to avoid Zoni space in Nolgor Subsector favour the route from Celephais via Byer’s Planet and Naltor to Dariak/Gazul, though this route benefits merchants out of Gamelea more than traders from Nolgor Subsector.

Lithia is an non-aligned world that has established strong commercial links with the Imperium through the pharmaceutical industry, while Huop is a non-aligned world that has been essentially settled and developed by three Imperial mega-corporations. It remains vulnerable to incursions by Outrim raiders.

Miazan Subsector is home to two Minor Races; the humanoid Olkathi of the deserts of Golus and the ursoid Purvions of the rain forests of Lithia.

There are three main dialects of Imperial Basic spoken in the Miazan Subsector:
1) Gamelea Imperial Basic: - spoken on Celephais, Byer’s Planet and Naltor.
2) Miazan Imperial Basic: Dialect of Imperial Basic spoken along the Miazan Main, and on Nakaya and Epoch.
3) Kampereli Basic: - Dialect of Miazan Imperial Basic spoken on Kamperel, Ektra and Floranna in Miazan Subsector.

Other languages spoken in the Miazan Subsector include:
Sahsah sai – Main language of the Olkathi Minor Race of Golus/Miazan.
Aerrghvi – Vargr dialect of Gvegh, one of the major Vargr language groups, spoken by the Vargr mercenary clan settled on Lo-Taisang/Cabria and who trade regularly along the Miazan Main.
Igzgal – Vargr dialect spoken by the Vargr mercenary clan settled on Tonivar/Cabria and who trade regularly along the Miazan Main.
Kassuriik: Main language of the Purvion Minor Race of Lithia.