The Fading Stars, Traveller rpg setting

The Duchy of Far Fenwick

The Duchy of Far Fenwick is an oddity that resulted from the fusion of a mis-jumped Imperial ship and an intellectually gifted humanoid race. The Kumiho inhabited their world for millennia living in the widely dispersed archipelagos and islands of the tropical region. Their origin myths claimed that they were not native to the world but had been brought there by “demons” who abandoned them as unworthy. They had developed a stable tech level 1-2 society but had few common cultural links save their universal belief in the return of their demonic masters. Close to 150 years ago the IFA Vicuña, a 50k ton TL13 Imperial transport tanker, violently mis-jumped on deployment to the Sol sector of the Solomani Rim. She was carrying a mixed load of supplies as part of an IIAA relief mission along with a team of IIAA personnel and IISS staff on detached duties.

Appearing in deep space with extensive damage the Vicuña had limited options. Her degraded sensors detected a yellow dwarf star in relative close proximity but with damaged manoeuvre drives it would take 6 months to reach the system’s heliosphere. Ordering the majority of the personnel in to cold sleep, Captain Pallenberg led a skeleton crew as she set course for the star, arriving with little margin for error as the Vicuña’s system continued to fail. It was with great relief that the system was found to have eight planets of which two were habitable. Pallenberg named the star Sotiras and head for the third planet, a garden world and home to the Kumiho. Pallenberg and her crew spent 3 months in orbit attempting repairs while the scouts surveyed the planet and the further system till it was agreed that the jump drive was beyond repair. Sotiras IV was an excellent option for long term habitation with an abundance of water and was rich in resources; the only drawback was that the atmosphere had trace of fine particular matter from the active volcanos of the southern continents. It gave the atmosphere a red tinge and, if untreated, led to respiratory health issues in the medium to long term. A settlement was established on one of the planet’s southern islands as far from the source of the atmospheric containments as was feasible and the IIAA staff set to work. It is known that there were disputes between Pallenberg, the IIAA staff and the scouts as how to proceed but within two years first contact had been made with the local Kuhimo who were pleased to accept the Imperials as their fabled returning demonic rulers.   

Pallenberg claimed the star system in the name of Emperor Styryx as part of the Third Imperium and established herself and personnel as the ruling elite. She indulged her passion for Terran literature, which she studied at the University of Dingir, by naming the planet Fenwick and the two moons, Mountjoy and Bascombe. The capital, the first settlement of the crew, was named Gloriana, and it was from here the new Duchess established her realm. Over a hundred and forty years later Duchess Annata Pallenberg is the ruler of the Duchy of Far Fenwick, and her Regent is the Herzog, Victoria haut Broguez.

The population of the star system consists of three main groups. Native Kumiho, Imperial Humans and those of mixed ancestry, referred to as Daburu. The largest group are the Kumiho but given their cultural founding myth of off-world masters, they have been very keen to inter-breed with Imperial humans. Indeed an Imperial partner or even father of a child is seen, by many, as desirable. This has steadily increased the number of Daburu within the populace. The last group are the ‘pure’ Imperials who often take leadership roles within society. It is not unheard of for an Imperial male to have a human wife and a discreet Kumiho mistress.

Fenwick is the home to the Kumiho humanoid race though archaeological research in the southern volcanic continents has found extensive ruins of an earlier civilisation. This would support the widely held Kumiho cultural belief that they were transplanted to the world by another species that they have referred to as “Demons”. These southern continents are heavily tainted with volcanic ash and are now the home to the industrial facilities of the world. Prior to the arrival of the Imperials this region was uninhabited with the Kumiho who lived on the tropical and northern islands of the planet.  

Both the moons, Mountjoy and Bascombe, have system defence boat squadrons based on them. While Mountjoy is also home to the Von Tarlenheim Marine Base.

Ruritania is a habitable oval shaped moon that orbits the gas giant of Brobdingnag (Sotiras  V). It is distorted by the strong gravitational influences of the gas giant while Its atmosphere, however, is nearly spherical, producing near-vacuum at the poles, too-high pressure at the equator, and two habitable temperate zones.

The moon planet has been heavily industrialised by the Duchy who had much less concern for the enviornmental impact of its actions. It is also home to the main shipyards at the extensive Emperor Stryryx Naval Faciltiy.

© Copyright Winwick Pig Publications 2024