Burning Copernica
A Burning Empires Game
Copernica is based on the remnants of a planetary system that orbits an unusual pulsar. The infrequent, but regular, emissions of this pulsar form an immense burning wheel in the sky - which has meant that Copernica was the site of both astrophysical research and religious pilgrimage. At the edge of this astounding display the mysterious Drinkers dance. Supping on the queer radiation of the former star, these enormous segmented creatures add another dimension to Copernica's riddle.
The inhabitants of Copernica live in the planetary fragments and asteroid belts left by the destruction of the planets. They rely on sophisticated life supporting systems, and many make their living maintaining these systems while others mine out the uninhabited asteroids and work in the systems zero-gravity shipyards.
Copernica drew away from the Gonzagin Empire during the original civil wars of the Darikhan Uprising. The majority of its Lords-Pilot left to honour their obligations to the true Imperial Inheritor, and were never to return. As the Empire contracted, Copernica turned inwards. Protecting its technological base, Copernica survived a few decades of turmoil before the mercantilists achieved political superiority and expanded the extent of their Imperial Charter to cover the whole system.
The capitalistic drive of the mercantilists lead to investigation of the Drinkers, the huge worm-like space-born creatures that lived near the pulsar's fringe. It was discovered that these beings excreted an unbelievable element that, when used to incept the fusion power cores of spacecraft, resulted in tremendous increases in output. The difficulty in obtaining the element restricted the widespread adoption of such cores, but enterprising league-members continued to try, and fail, to commercialise the unusual commodity.
Copernica, with its economically minded leadership and high technology, became a kind of hub out in the Void. Nearby lower index worlds purchased its ships, in return for commodities hard to find in Copernica's sealed space-cities. Many on these worlds sought to buy citizenship as well, a privilege barred to all but the wealthy.
Copernica is secure; its habitats are well-guarded by its loyal mercenaries, its trade lanes are respected by all but the most piratical, its mostly disenfranchised miners and fabricators are kept docile by the ministrations of the Organisation. The magnates of the league have heard of the Vaylen, but they remain calm. Afterall, their probes and sensors have detected no military fleet that could challenge their rings of defensive weapons platforms... this so-called Terror is a nothing but a bogeyman to frighten those of lower index...
Copernica
Galactic Location: Gonzagin Void World.
Atmosphere: Non Life-Supporting (asteroids).
Hydrology: Mostly Land (asteroids!).
Topography: Artificial Environs (asteroid (!!!) habitats and "star-scrapers").
Primary Government: Merchant League.
Tech Index: High.
Predominant Military: Professional Volunteer Force.
Factions: Royalists, Theocratic Institutions, Organised Crime, Indigenous Lifeforms (radioactive space worms).
Attitude towards the Vaylen: Ignorant.
Primary Export: Industrial Capital (civilian spacecraft and power cores).
Quarantine: Advanced - Cryogenics and Medical technology is not quarantined (due to demand it has an 'express clearance').
Economic Regulation: Moderately Regulated - Psychology and Military Technology are restricted; Power (Life Support!) Infrastructure, Weaponry, Slavery and Livestock are regulated. The League bureaucracy controls all regulatory bodies.
Dispositions:
Infiltration: Vaylen: 26 Human: 22+1
Usurpation: Vaylen: 33 Human:18
Invasion: Vaylen:31 Human:23
COPERNICA SHALL BURN!