Oziri

The outermost planet in the Abeceus system, transformed by an ancient alien civilization into a planetary megafortress. Now home to a sprawling pirate nation-state.

Planetary Characteristics

Long ago Oziri was a world under the sway of a long forgotten alien empire of near limitless technological capabilities. Vast intraplanetary networks of tunnels and dwelling spaces lie beneath its dark and frozen surface.

The Shell

Oziri’s defining feature lies 100–300 meters below its crust: a thick multi-layered metal shell encasing the entire inner portion of the planet.

Specifications:

• Thickness: 300 meters
• Composition: Multiple layers of previously unknown super-alloys, perfect down to the last atom
• Support structure: Colossal metal supports connect distant sections of the shell
• Flexibility: Complex planetary-spanning carbon networks weave through the entire shell structure, including the planetary supports, giving flexibility

Defensive Capability:

The carbon weave’s flexibility coupled with the tensile and shear strengths of the metal layers mean that the planetary shell could withstand concentrated direct hits from the entire Mesulean arsenal and still remain unbreached at the point of impact. Tunnel networks and dwellings branch off the planetary superstructure in fractal patterns, like tendrils, flexing gracefully in response to orbital bombardments.

The Builders

The shell was constructed by the Vey—a long-vanished alien civilization. Other than the phenomenal displays of civil engineering and material sciences, no other sign of the shell makers’ technology has been found. No sign of what caused them to abandon Oziri has been found either.

The Anchor

Deep beneath the shell lies the true heart of Oziri: the Vey Anchor - a contained primordial singularity that serves as both eternal power source and the geometric foundation that allows the Oziri Corridor to stabilize nearby.

The Vey modified the micro black hole in ways human physics considers impossible, creating a “regulated naked singularity” whose exposed spacetime effects form a socket for the ancient transit lattice. This is why Oziri cannot be ignored - it is a nexus, the only point in Abecean space where interstellar wormholes can connect.

Human expeditions into the deeper layers have met with limited success. The few who descended too far toward the core returned changed - or didn’t return at all. The pirates rule Oziri’s upper tunnels, but something else governs the depths.

Background

Aside from the remarkable megafortress hidden beneath the surface, Oziri is lacking in many critical resources required for a self-sufficient industrial base. This lack of useful materials coupled with its remoteness made it an unattractive target for early government colonization projects.

Oziri was heavily studied by scientists of many disciplines over the centuries. In recent times however, without further clues as to the shell makers’ technology and methods, most believe they have exhausted all knowledge that the Oziri megastructure has to offer.

While the unique defensibility of Oziri was unquestionable, Atrunean, Mesulean, and Nuilean militaries could find little practical use for a fortress so removed from anything of value. And so Oziri remained mostly as a curiosity during early colonization efforts.

Rise in Space Piracy

As the Mesulean and Nuilean colonies began to mature and space travel became much more frequent throughout the system, space piracy began to become a serious and expensive problem.

Abecean Flares

Abecean flares are frequent, emitting large bursts of x-rays into the system. Spacecraft’s vulnerable communications and sensory equipment must be shielded during these events, restricting their capabilities. Flares give pirates a window to attack, board, and retreat before distress calls can be sent.

Military Response

In response to the rise in piracy, Atruna and Mesulea increased their fleet sizes greatly. Despite this, they lacked the ships to provide escorts to the majority of trade vessels. The primary purpose of the fleets was to seek and destroy pirate vessels docking at pirate bases set up in the asteroid belt. There were millions of ship-sized asteroids to police, so it was a difficult task.

Pirates Acquire Advanced Drives

Despite some limited success in combating piracy by the Atrunean and Mesulean militaries, the most successful pirates became wealthy enough to acquire advanced long-range drives. These drives increased the striking range of pirates considerably, allowing them to retreat to the outer solar system and beyond—including Oziri.

Oziri was soon occupied by several Pirate Lords, rich captains who began claiming sections of the superstructure for themselves. As wealth and goods flowed into Oziri, large marketplaces for both legal and illegal trade began to appear. People of all kinds began to migrate from elsewhere in the system to find their fortunes meeting the swelling needs of this burgeoning criminal society.

The Oziri Conflict

Main article: The Oziri Conflict

As Oziri grew in power, the Mesuleans and Atruneans launched a massive joint military campaign to eliminate this threat to their shipping lanes.

The campaign was a catastrophic failure:

• Naval bombardment was futile against the planetary shell
• Ground assault faced impossible odds in the labyrinthine warrens
• Tens of thousands of casualties with no end in sight
• Atrunean withdrawal after public pressure
• Failed Mesulean blockade due to ground-to-orbit attrition

The conflict proved Oziri unconquerable and transformed it from pirate hideout to de facto sovereign state.

The Pirate Compact

While the war had been costly for the Atruneans and Mesuleans, it had been costly for the pirates as well. They realized they had to be careful not to incur the wrath of the inner systems again.

Terms

The Pirate Lords began selecting their targets carefully, making sure never to raid the same corporations too often or too close together. As the pirates faded from an escalating menace to merely a persistent nuisance—just another minor risk on the balance sheet—the inner system began to accept some level of piracy as the new normal.

The Pirate Lords formalized their new approach in a written agreement: If any Pirate Lord or independent pirate became too greedy, they would face the wrath of the others for bringing danger upon them all.

Modern Oziri

Today, Oziri is a sprawling metropolis, ruled by a tangle of pirate lords, shadowy middle-system corporate representatives, and local mafias. Every corner of it thrums with life.

Crime exists but is not as rampant as one might expect, as the local powers dislike competitors. You have to watch your back, but you can get anything and find out anything in Oziri, and there is tremendous opportunity for people who have their wits and are willing to break a few rules.

Docks

Oziri has dozens of docks of various sizes.

Structure

Each dock is structured in a honeycomb pattern, with each cell housing a single ship. Each cell has a retractable door. During peacetime, these cell doors tend to stay open.

Operations

• Minor repairs: Conducted by vacc-suited repair crews
• Major repairs: A cell can be filled with air to allow a team to work on the ship more easily
• Sizing: Each dock tends to have different sized cells for different craft

Ownership

Every dock on Oziri has been claimed by various factions.

Governance

See: Oziri Council

Infighting

Pirate factions have been known to go to war. The Pirate Compact drafted by the Council stipulates a restriction on altercations on neutral ground.

Neutral Ground

Neutral ground is composed of:

• Commercial districts
• Residential districts
• Administration districts
• Oziri shipping lanes
• Space above commercial docks

This restriction allows parties doing business on Oziri to feel insulated from violence, preventing a loss in business for all factions.

Enforcement

• Members of warring factions sometimes cross paths on neutral ground, commonly leading to brawls, which are generally ignored
• Killing on neutral ground earns a death sentence

Corporate Relationships

The relationships between pirates and corporations are dynamic and complex.

• Some corporations are targeted by raids
• Corporations doing business on Oziri are protected from being raided by the Council
• Getting immunity status from the Council can be politically tricky—some factions may want to do business with a corporation, others may want to raid them
• Most factions are involved in other commerce besides raiding, and so each has different interests
• Different interests and schemes are what lead factions into war with each other

Interstellar Trade

Being the outermost planet with highly developed markets, Oziri serves as a port for many interstellar traders via the Oziri Corridor.

Key Locations

• Zirta — Largest city, jointly managed by the Oziri Council
• The Hive — District
• Hai Jun’s Estate — Residence of the Spike Reavers’ Pirate Lord