Ahh, here we go. It's long, I'll warn you, but it's mostly just background info in case you want to know (particularly if you want to be a character from somewhere in the sector, which is a good excuse for being in that sector and wanting to work on the planet Dio I guess). A few typos and some awkwardly-worded sentences (relative to by my standards) that probably repeat a few facts, but I wrote most of it over three or four evenings with a few extra tidbit sentences thrown in in subsequent revisions.
I'd have to say four things I should have clarified in it better are:
1) The sector's lack of trade and economic base is due to several factors tht have all ballooned over the last millenium, particularly the degree of underpopulation and low useage of the trade route (it's rarely recharted and therefore much slower/harardous than most, making travel through the sector far more out of the way than regions with magnitudes dense populations)
2) Crime and piracy is prevalent, though the Empire would prefer if people didn't notice. Some planets pay quite a lot of service to criminal organizations, and it's suspected that many colony worlds and facilities were sold to fronts for smugglers and pirates when the companies owning them went bankrupt or left.
3) The quality of systems is dependant on how close they are to the Corridor worlds. Those 12 systems are actually in pretty good shape, while another 3-4 dozen are backwater but not extremely poor or technologically behind. It's the colonies and dependancies that are serriously isolated and lacking in galactic trade, though htey're still better than the 'abandoned' worlds. Dio is probably in the top 40-100 I'd suggest.
4) I *know* I had a 4th clarification in mind. I just seem to have misplaced it...
Anywho, characters will be starting off in a spaceport sectrion of the city of Tollo Prime, on the planet of Otzo located in the middle of the Hoddarim Corridor. First characters who get fleshed out can mingle around, decide what they're doing or who they're with, do some basic actions, etc. Unless otherwise agreed upon, they're all preparing to take a ship to the Planet Dio (their original flight with Rimward Spacelanes was cancelled for being too small, this is a rescheduled trip aboard a freighter. The ship's pilot has 'kindly' agreed to let RS set up basic accomidations for passengers in the lower hold of his ship). I can write up the stats for a small courrier starship if two people decide to have joint ownership of it, and they all can take that instead.
-Hoddarim Sector
Sector within the inner edge of the Outer Rim. It comprises a sparse region of space lying mostly between two
galactic arms, filled with several million stars, most of which are
dead/uninhabited systems. During the Republic, it was listed as containing 47 major systems, over a thousand minor
inhabited colonies, and containing dependencies, factory worlds, and mining operations in the range of twenty
thousand. Although never a rich or highly-populated region, at one time it sas fairly profitable and often-traveled,
particularly around 3,000 to 1,500 years before the formation of the Empire, providing the region with relatively new
products and a steady supply of high-end galactic technology and standards of living. Now it is a depopulated, isolated
backwater, many of its worlds struggle to maintian galactic standards of living with a far smaller economic base;
colonies have crumbled into barely self-sufficient states, their dependancies abandoned save for scattered habitations.
Under the Imperial administration of Moff Serrat under Palpatine's Empire (and represented by Fargremell Hezel in the
Imperial Senate up until its disbanding), little Imperial military activity is present other than regular patrols and
observation. Very little travel from the rest of the galaxy goes through the sector, perhaps a couple ships a day, to
ferry passengers or sell goods at inflated prices, and almost all of them stay along the Hoddarim Corridor. The
Hoddarim sector has been nearly a ghost sector in this regard for over a millennium.
-Hoddarim Corridor
Hyperspace route connecting twelve major worlds together. The Corridor originally connected two parallel hyperspace
routes, which for thousands of years received much traffic between the Mid Rim and Outer Rim near the Hydian Way.
Around 1,200 years ago, as regional economics changed and galactic commerce found better routes and sectors with
more lucrative profits, travel through the Corridor significantly dropped and trans-sector trade all but disappeared within
a few decades. Depopulation occurred throughout the sector, with many people emigrating from the Corridor to follow
changes in trade routes. Most self-sufficient systems and colonies saw at least half their population move to Corridor
worlds (and in turn soon moved out of the sector), while worlds without even somewhat-stable habitation were all but
abandoned. The Corridor manages to benefit from some intergalactic trade, although these goods are in such low
supply that few hits the open market and they are very expensive either way. The twelve systems in the Hoddarim
Corridor have been the least affected by the loss of intergalctic trade; they receive the most traffic, have the highest
populations and numbers of buisnesses, and are responsible for producing almost all of the sector's necessities,
including lower-tech equivalents of items otherwise too complex or expensive to manufacture itself.
Official Imperial System Count, Hoddarim Sector:
462 Member Worlds
815 Colonies and Dependancies
(This estimate distorts the self-sufficiency and population of its 'Member Worlds' and lumps all other systems with
catalogued habitation as colonies. Said catalogue is grossly inacurrate in which worlds lack habitation; independent
reports indicate that as many as one thousand of these old installations/outposts still bear settlements. The best
estimate is an average of 1,000 beings on each, though such 'uninhabited' planet- an abandoned farming colony- was
bearing a un-industrialized population of at least two million.)
-Dio System (Star Hoddarim G20339)
The Dio System is yet another near-isolated, partially abandoned, self-sufficient backwater stuck in the middle of the
Hoddarim sector, about 400 light years from the nearest Corridor system. The Dio system, like many others in this
sector, relies on technology it can produce and maintain itself for its low-billions population. This includes simpler
power sources using less-refined fuels, smaller refining/manufacturing machines, and the lack of many items built
using processes which require galaxy-wide trade and massive factory worlds, like starships and repulsorlifts. Unlike the
Corridor systems, Dio has access to even fewer manufacturing capabilities and does not partake in intergalactic trade
on a regular basis. Interstellar travel between Dio and major sector worlds occurs on the average of one ship every
couple days, most of which are freighters and passenger liners, and rarely more than 6 to 8 a year involve travel from
outside the sector. As such even the cheapest and smallest of items (such as blasters and powerpacks) are
unmanageably expensive. System contain 10 planets (4 gas giants), with primary settlements on the second planet
named Dio. The third and fourth planets contain small settlements devoted to the mining and production of refined
materials, while power plants and facilities on both Dio's moons produce the system's supply of fuel cells (an inefficient
but common Hoddarim alternative to power packs and compact generators), dumping the by-products of these
installations into their barren environments.
-Planet Dio
Main inhabited world of the Dio system, currently containing a population of about 500 million people. At one point in
time the population was over three and a half billion. During the height of the sector's galactic trade, Dio was the head
of its own local government, controlling two other colony systems and housing companies that owned refineries and
factory worlds in several systems. Most of these companies were involved in the sector-wide production of light
materials such as droid body shells and furniture, and as such the vast majority of these systems' manufacturing
capacity and population centered around them and the revenue and traffic they brought. These companies eventually
went under or left the sector, leaving many of the worlds to be abandoned or sold off. Dio was forced to disband
extra-solar colonies and focus on supporting its own remaining populace, shutting down many of the colonial
government's functions and ability to manage itself, let alone overcome the logistical nightmare of rebuilding the
system's infrastructure.
For the next millennium Dio was a member of the Otzo-Tolia Joint Trust, one of several associations created by self-
sufficient major worlds to organize, purchase and distribute necessities for several systems and nearly a hundred
dependencies and minor settlements. The OTJT, run by the Otzo system located in the Corridor, were responsible for
redistributing many populations and dictated which planets should build what in order to maintain relative independence
(the catch being that Otzo became the exclusive provider of many goods, materials, and services, which was
intentionally arranged in such way to Otzo's benefit). Though the association's power waned once these systems had
stabilized and began their own manufacturing and thus were largely ignored, the Trust remained as the key
administrative body in governing all decisions above the local municipal level on Dio and most other worlds up until the
time of the Empire. Within a few years Otzo was finally appointed Jolia Mogen as its Imperial Governor, disbanding the
Trust and placing its member worlds under Governor Mogen's jurisdiction. It was essentially a change of names and
figurehead, though the increase in governing efficiency was notable.
On a local level, Dio is relatively inactive geologically and ecologically, containing few landmarks or native flora and
fauna worth noting. The planet's environments are mostly plains and marshes, with some arid inland regions on the
main continents. It its Southern hemisphere has two main continents: Dellac, containing most of Dio's cities, and the
larger, colder Yatuia, which is comprised of several subcontinents. There's also a smaller continent and numerous
island chains in the north, but perhaps only a few million people inhabit them. Dio currently has a three major
population centers, containing a fifth of the planet's population. Forty million are in Northfen, Dellac, which is the
planet's defacto capitol and contains a modestly maintained spaceport. Miorilli and Thohssela are almost on opposite
sides of Yatuia, and together are home to over 50 million, with another 160 to 180 million in cities in the middle of the
continent. However these two metropolises are greatly depopulated, and don't have the same unity or economic
strength as Northfen. Conversely, it is widely regarded that Northfen has rather prominent amount of organized crime
running many companies and business deals.
Local Technology: Fuel Cells. Term used for several similar types of fusion and chemical power sources used in
virtually all 'modern' technology produced in Hoddarim. They range from minature cells, rechargable batteries, and
portable powerpacks, used in vehicles, power plants, tools, and large commercial items. These types of generators,
fuel and batteries are most often less efficient than ones found in the rest of the galaxy, but are far easier to produce in
small, city-sized factories, and use common materials for fuel, which are far less complex to refine and use than the
exotic materials found in heavy fusion or the hypermatter used in starships and large-scale reactors. The byproducts
involved in production, particularly in the energy storage components of handheld cells, are extremely toxic. Although
fuel cells aren't less effective than their modern counterparts by more than a factor, Hoddarim has only used this
technology in starships on a 'temporary' basis in the past, when for several centuries starship fuel tankers did not
conduct travel through the sector. During that time ships were fitted with external fuel tank pods and jury-rigged with
the necessary filters and adaptors to their drives; an expensive alternative which pushed the limits of fuel cell
technology in terms of applicable scale and efficiency of simple fusion. One fortunate result of Imperial occupation was
the return of regular fuel trade in Hoddarim. Starship fuel is now one of the only galactic imports that is cheap and
ubiqutous in this sector.
Local Technology: Autocars. A great example of the incredible scale of manufacturing required for common technology
is repulsorlift drives. Something as mundane and inexpensive as a young adult's first speeder has a propulsion system
containing materials made from an astronmically massive installation built around a black hole. A sector as isolated,
underpopulated, and resource-poor as Hoddarim could not even begin to fund and maintain something that enormous,
and didn't have high enough demand to warrant the large-scale production it entailed. Import speeders are rare and
expensive, and although many entrepeneurs and small companies attempted to locally produce speeders using
imported repulsorlift drives over the centuries, the costs and small customer base has always eventually forced them to
give up and close. Several manufacturers have filled the niche for commercial ground transports with wheeled vehicles
sold under the nickname of 'autocars'. More or less just as durable and versatile as land speeders, these low-tech
transports typically feature two pairs of air-filled polymer tires, individually suspended, balanced, and adjusted via
computer-guidance, providing smooth as of turns, accelleration, and braking as possible. A major disadvantage is their
low speeds and need for recharging and regular maintenance. Most use a form of rechargable fuel cells, which allows
autocars to typically reach top speeds of 100km/h to 200km/h and go 500-1000km before refueling. These vehicles
come in numerous varieties, from giant transcontinental cargo transports, to two-seat small luxury vehicles, two-
wheeled motorized bikes, family transports, and rugged trucks for personal cargo. Airspeeders are even less common
than landspeeders, even among the wealthy or well-traveled. A variation of autocars, typically built custom in small
workshops, are 'hovercars', using jet turbines for proulsion and air-driven vertical takeoff. Most air travel and
intercontinental transportation is still handled by repulsorlift vehicles, owned and maintained by the planetary government.
Local Technology: Laser guns. A weapon type not used regularly since before the formation of the Republic, laser
pistols and laser rifles are simple energy weapons that take advantage of the rarity and cost of imported blaster packs
in the Hoddarim sector. Unlike blasters, Hoddarim laser guns are litterally amplified light, benefitting from relatively
advanced forms of miniaturization and cooling methods. They are somewhat underpowered; they lack the sheer power
and high-temperatures of blasters and yet cannot pierce materials as well as projectile slugs. Though great for
personal defense, they not very effective against dense materials or thick armor. Fuel cells for laser guns come in
several varieties of sizes, comparable to most blaster power packs, but typically contain enough energy for only ten to
thirty shots. They fire mostly invisible beams (though the emitters produce a muzzle flash due to radiating waste light,
and the beams will produce glowing trails in smoky/dusty environments) and cut through the air with a whip-like
cracking noise. Most laser pistols fire in a series of pulses over fractions of a second, while some longarms or large
'cannons' fire in single, high-powered shots. Very few models utilize continuous beams, due to overheating and limited
power supply. Numerous types and models of laser guns and their fual cells (along with some advanced models of
slug-throwers) can be found for reasonable prices in weapon stores on virtually every inhabited world in the Hoddarim
sector, while blaster power packs and some common models of blasters are available at marked-up rates (2 to 3 times
galactic price) in select import markets.
Regional Secondary Language: Tchochet. Language originating from the Tchoa, an alien race that inhabited roughly
eighty worlds across four Outer Rim and Mid Rim sectors, including the Hoddarim Sector. When colonists and
traders from the rest of the galaxy began to travel through this region regularly and set up colonies in great numbers,
The Tchoa integrated into the Republic's general population. Their language remained the primary form of
communication on their worlds while spreading to others over time. The Tchoa died out as a species 8,500 years ago.
Tchochet remains to be used predominantly in Tchoan-origin worlds, is still used regularly in many communities on
nearby worlds, and is a common secondary language known by most people to some degree throughout their old
sectors.
Notable Region: Pa'rozha Confederacy: Cluster of nine systems within the Hoddarim Sector, belonging to the native
Pa'rozhians. From their homeworld of Pro, they have maintained their own interstellar civilization for the last 6,000
years, though have been readilly influenced by and welcoming of the galactic community within the sector. While Pro
and its colonies have never maintained technology beyond the simple space travel, it is very self-sufficient and was
hardly affected by the sector's shift in galactic trade. Lacking modern manufacturing capacity or commodities, Pro and
its dependencies had been all but non-existant in Hoddarim trade and went largely unnoticed. The non-Pa'rozhian
inhabitants became integrated into the Confederacy over the next milennia, becoming more accustomed to the
uniquely low-tech-but-refined society of Pro than the galactic 'community' that lost touch with them. Under the
expansive, omnipresent Empire, Pro is a member world, though still maintains its colonies and technology in the same
backwards isolation it has since the species' beginning. The Pa'rozha Confederacy exists mostly in name and spirit
now, as it is considered to be little more than a local trade bureau and subordinate to Pro's Imperial Governor.
Native Species: Pa'rozhians. Sometimes locally referred to as Prozhans. Vaguely lagomorphic race native to the
planet Pro, several hundred light-years off the Hoddarim Corridor. They are stocky, usually 1.7 to 2.1 meters in height,
and physically adept sapient species, covered in extremely soft short black fur, often bearing a slight hue ranging from
navy blue to turquoise and dark green. Females are usually taller but of slimmer build. The Republic came into contact
with the natives of Pro long before they had developed anything beyond simple stone tools and spoken language. Their
prevalent contact with humans considerably affected and guided the Pa'rozhians in terms of technology, culture, and
physical evolution. They have since settled into a simple spacefaring society, parhaps similar to the arduous but
dilligent Core Worlds of a hundred milennia ago. What little they may of had of an independently-developed culture no
longer exists; the closest being their old ceremonial 'native' written language of Cyet, once thought to have been
developed exclusively by Pa'rozhians centuries after galactic contact, it turned out to simply be an application of trade
symbols used at the time by Muunilinst along the Hydian Way. They also have some slightly unique takes on galactic
holidays and social ettiquette.
And for those suspecting EU minimalism, they are free to look up the local naval desense forces and see there's a 10+ kilometer-long super star destroyer in orbit of the 6th system along the Corridor
Hoddarim Sector Fleet:
-Praetor-Class Star Battlecruiser "Wise Proclamation"
-x5 Contemptor-Class Star Cruisers (Aeternum, Universal, Necropolis, Tempest, Omnibenevolent)
-24 Victory-Class Star Destroyers
-68 Demolisher-Class Star Frigates
-255 Reliant-Class System Patrol Frigates
-900+ various fleet-based corvettes, carriers and transports, and planetary defense and patrol craft
Despite its remoteness and unimpressiveness, The Hoddarim Imperial sector fleet was the benefactor of six impressive
warships to serve as commanding vessels. Though claimed by some nay-sayers to have been assigned purely through
some kind of clerical error, these battleships were part of many Clone War-era starships being phased out of Kuat Drive
Yards' system defense fleets in the first years of the new Empire. Along with numerous smaller ships freshly
completed and crewed for their assignment to the distant Hoddarim Sector, the last direct order from the Emperor was
to deliver Moff Serrat and the new fleet to the sector capital of the Horosk system, where the rest of the fleet would
distribute among various systems and transport various newly-appointed planetary governors to their respective worlds.
The Praetor-class HIMS Wise Proclamation and her five Contemptor-class Star Cruisers are still in orbit of Horosk IV,
idling like sleeping demigods too illustrious to bother with all but the most important concerns.