Revision as of 20:43, 14 September 2022

Fedalle System
Sector	Kuat Sector
Galactic coordinates	50,54
Planets	2
Moon	None
Asteroid Fields	None
Space Stations	14
Population	Approx. 5 million
Controlled By	Galactic Empire

Return to Kuat Sector

The Fedalle System is one of the seven systems of the Kuat Sector. Its capital, along with the entire system government, is located on the arctic planet of Fedalle II. While only a small system, the wealth of the metal deposits on Fedalle I and their large-scale industrial exploitation for the construction of transparisteel, coupled with its central position in the Kuat Sector and on the Hydian Way trade route, has made the Fedalle System an important trading hub. It also boasts a considerable build up of shipyards.

An Unprovoked Strike

Victory Star Destroyer Widowmaker

During the waning years of the Second Galactic Civil War between the New Republic and the Galactic Empire, the Republic made a last few desperate attempts to strike at Imperial facilities, hoping to gain some sort of advantage while being crushed on every front. It was the year 21 on the 10th day of the Galactic Timeline, only days before the inevitable collapse of the New Republic nuisance when Fleet Admiral Vidar Sicarius of the 2nd Imperial Fleet got a private message in his office from Imperial Intelligence. The message itself gave him a start as he scanned through his encoded datapad with growing concern. There had been multiple last ditch efforts as of late by the fledgling Republic to cause havoc on Imperial supply lines and the Fedalle System was well known to be rich in minerals, especially transparisteel, one of the backbone materials used in many military supplies including armor, vehicles, ships and more. A successful interruption of such a supply line could slow much needed repairs to damaged ships and resupply of legions still recovering from recent battles. Reports from intelligence officers in the field were able to decode a hidden transmission to Republic ships who were ordered to make their way to the Fedalle system in an attempt at striking key stations with the intention of putting a halt on any transfer of materials coming out of the planet below.

Sicarius' never took a message from Imperial Intelligence for granted. He stood immediately and hailed the Commander of 7th Group, Rear Admiral Thea Corine, giving orders to reposition the fleet over the Fedalle System in preparation for a counter-raid. The fleet made the jump to hyperspace within minutes of the order, a testament to the precision of the Imperial Navy. Upon exiting hyperspace into the Fedalle system, with sublight engines kicking into gear, a distress signal rang out from the trading station near the planet; it was under attack. The New Republic was attempting a hit and run. "Insolent bastards," remarked Sicarius, when Thea relayed the situation. The pathetic task force sent by the Republic consisted only of a Corona-Class Frigate and a few squadrons of Y-Wings and X-Wings.

Moving the fleet into position, Tie Fighter and Tie Interceptors erupted from the closest Victory Star Destroyer in a blur of movement. Green lasers flashed against red, as dogfights between the fighters initiated all over the blanket of space as the lighter and faster Carrack Cruisers sped forward. The Victory Star Destroyer's superior firepower began to batter the ill equipped Republic Frigate. The battle raged for only a short time before the Republic fighters broke off their attack, having suffered heavy losses. The frigate's shields had been diminished and it was sustaining heavy damage from the closing Imperial capital ships. The Republic frigate crawled away, prepping for its retreat into hyperspace, but Sicarius and Thea weren't about to let it go so easily. A detachment of Tie Bombers were sent straight for the frigate with the intent of finishing it off, but just as they were closing in, the cowardly rebels rocketed into hyperspace. The battle was a reflection of the all too familiar one sided conflict that would come to a close only a few days later when the Republic surrendered to Emperor Seele and the Galactic Empire causing Imperial citizens to rejoice in the expectation of peaceful progression over the next several years.

A Colossal Nightmare Pt. 1

Imperial Medical Droid

The Imperial Mining Corporation is one of the major backbones of the Galactic Empire, providing the extraction and management of resources and research all over Imperial space. The Ministry of Industry goes to great lengths to ensure proper safety protocols are followed at all times by its workers, but sometimes things fall through the cracks, especially when technology and natural elements run amok. Everyone who works in the industrial sectors of the Empire will tell you that strip-mining comes with circumstances, many of which are out of a person's control. When the Imperial Mining Corporation first setup their vast networks of strip-mines on Fadelle I the toxicity of fumes released from the heavy equipment coupled with the extreme heat caused workers to succumb to sickness and sometimes even death. Heavy safety protocols were put into place to stem further incidents from occurring and the mining on Fadelle I experienced little in the way of injury or death for the next several years, until year 23 day 16 of the Galactic Timeline when disaster struck.

It was a typical day for Senior Vice President Kuuda Ki: a horde of meetings and stacks of paperwork detailing plans for the placement of new mining facilities in the Emerald Region, when her aid, Demdroom Loo rushed into her office with a concerned look. "This better be good Demdroom, I've got a busy day," barked Kuuda. The aid stuttered into the room, forgive me ma'am but "Grand Moff Nikolaus Ephranor is requesting your presence in the conference room via hologram. It sounds urgent." Kuuda knew the Grand Moff wouldn't just call up for an afternoon chat and immediately followed her aid out of the office.

Kuuda stopped at the door to the conference room and regarded, Demdroom, "That'll be all." Demdroom nodded and turned on his heels, making his way back to his desk to get back to the days activities. Kuuda strode into the conference room and activated the holo-projector. The Grand Moff's face illuminated the room and he spoke with reserved immediacy, "Vice President Ki, forgive my lack of pleasantries, but we've had a major incident on Fedalle I and your assistance in the matter is required." Kuuda shifted her stance, "No apology needed Grand Moff Ephranor. What's the situation?" The holo-projector flickered for a moment before he continued, "There was a large gas explosion at one of the strip-mining facilities on Fedalle I. Reports are still coming in, but it appears at least a dozen workers have been injured or worse. Those with injuries have been transported to the medical station in orbit above the planet. I need you to look into this and figure out what went wrong. Report your findings and make the necessary repairs." Kudda's face was one of subtle horror, "I'll brief Minister Elensar immediately and then handle this situation personally." Grand Moff Ephranor nodded, "I know I can count on you Senior Vice President Kuuda. Your reputation is well known. Ephranor out." As the hologram faded Kuuda paused, her thoughts racing. There hadn't been a major incident like this in quite some time and on her watch of all things. She refused to let the incident reflect poorly on the Ministry reputation and hustled out of the room, back to her office, yelling as she moved, "Demdroom! We've got a priority one."

Sitting in orbit above Fedalle I was an Imperial Medical Station. The older station didn't have as many of the amenities offered by the more modern XQ-2 Stations, but it doesn't limit the effectiveness of its functionality. Dr. Moses Reed, the chief Medical Officer aboard the station moved swiftly between rooms as patients with severe burns and high levels of toxic exposure were carted inside from the docking bay. This was the second transport to offload wounded into his facility and being understaffed wasn't helping expedite who was a priority and who had only minor complications. His only saving grace were the medical droids that were stationed on board, but Dr. Reed didn't like to rely on them since they were often overdue for routine maintenance checks, repairs, and system diagnostics.

"Just hang in there," Reed encouragingly said to one of the patients as he checked her vital signs. "I'll take it from here, sir," remarked a nearby 2-1B unit medical droid. Reed hesitated before moving on to the next patient. He was never at ease around droids and unfortunately in his line of work, he often had to work with them. Reed worked quickly through those brought aboard. The med bay was already full and another room, originally used as storage was being utilized as overflow. Luckily for Dr. Reed, the facility was equipped with a large supply of antitoxins after incidents earlier in the development of Fedalle I. It was unfortunate that six Imperial souls had already perished in the accident. Four died in the explosion and a further two before the good doctor had time to assess their condition. It was during the discovery of the most recent death that a screaming echoed out from the overflow room.

Dr. Reed rushed from the primary Medbay over to the former storage room to find his assistant Felkirk frozen with horror. Ten patients lie dead, one still convulsing as the cause of death hovered over him, a 2-1B unit. Reed acted quickly using the restraining bolts functionality to shut down the medical droid before it caused any more damage. A quick diagnostic revealed the droid had malfunctioned and loaded itself with neurotoxin samples and was injecting them directly into each patients heart causing cardiac arrest and death. Dr. Reed's distrust of droids was validated.

The final summary of reports Vice President Kuuda received of the Fedalle I disaster were grim, 26 dead with an additional 76 workers wounded. To further add to the chaos was a strange report submitted for review by the medical station Chief, Dr. Moses Reed detailing a malfunctioning medical droid being responsible for ten of those deaths. "This is a nightmare," she remarked to Demdroom. Over the next few days she was up to her eyeballs in paperwork and reports for both the Minister and the Grand Moff as well numerous meetings with agents of ISB who were trying to ascertain if negligence was involved. "Sabotage?" Kuuda blurted in response to Agent Arya Solus' assessment.

Planets

Fedalle (I)

Fedalle I

”All civilian and unauthorized traffic to and from the surface of Fedalle I is strictly prohibited under the judicial laws of the Kuat Imperial Sector. Trespassers will find themselves subject to the full extent of the Imperial Criminal Code and might be fired upon.”
-Excerpt from Judicial decree Sigma-One

Fedalle I is the first planet from the sun in the Fedalle System. It has a wealth of metal deposits which are into the durable transparisteel, but its close proximity to the sun gives the planet a scorching hot and almost lifeless climate. Global industrial strip-mining in combination with the hot climate is responsible for the release of high amounts of toxic fumes directly into the atmosphere, further transforming Fedalle I into a dangerous planet where failure to wear proper protection will lead to delirium and ultimately death.

Many corporations initially laid claim to the lucrative metal deposits, willing to take the risk and provide their miners with the necessary equipment and protection. However, as pollution levels rose over the years and both expenditures and the inevitable death toll amongst the miners increased, the corporations began to abandon their claims and pulled out one after another; leaving their once expensive mines up for grabs.

In Year 15, then-Moff Azhrarn Amaratha signed Judicial decree Sigma-One, a special addendum to the judicial laws of the Kuat Oversector classifying the planet as a penal colony making all unauthorized access to and from the surface restricted. The claims left by the various corporations fell into Imperial hands by default. The two main purposes behind the decree were to make both the mines profitable again and to take the burden off the strained Kuat Department of Correctional Facilities; thousands of prisoners throughout the Kuat Imperial Sector were asked to volunteer in exchange for reduced sentences.

A Medical Station was eventually constructed in orbit around Fedalle I, its purpose; to study the toxic atmosphere and distribute the necessary antitoxins to counteract the effects of the pollution. This construction was highly debated among Imperial officials since it was going to benefit prisoners, but the winning argument was made that without the antitoxins, the constant replacement workers would be considerably more costly. A minor compromise was made as the station was constructed using an older deconstructed medical station to save on the cost of materials.

A Colossal Nightmare Pt. 2

Mining Facility 26-A46

The first penal colonies on the planet opened in late Year 16. Throughout the early months of Year 17 an increasing amount of prisoners volunteered for the program, likely finding merit in the idea of having long sentences reduced in exchange for voluntary service to the Empire. The relocation of some of the worst prisoners in the Kuat Oversector has not only made the mines an extremely valuable revenue for the Imperial Treasury and the Fedalle System, but has also taken a considerable burden off some of the more overcrowded Imperial Correctional Facilities.

One such prisoner was a young Bothan named, Asc Lonar. A former member of the Hutt Cartel, Asc was previously in a maximum security facility in the Vuma System, but limited resources and overcrowding had presented him with the opportunity to come to Fedalle and work off some of his 20 year sentence for illegal arms trading. Asc was no stranger to hard work, but initially was a little concerned over the rumors of the dangers of working on such a highly toxic planet. He was ensured that the deaths that occurred in the past had been curtailed as the supply of antitoxin treatments had been normalized. Even with the risk, the thought of an early release was well worth the chance, thought Asc. Over the next three years, he worked gruelingly long shifts. The protective suits and masks needed for the job were suffocatingly hot and many workers often succumbed to dehydration or even heat stroke. The barracks where they were housed offered little relief and being in a constant state of sweatiness was expected, especially for a furry Bothan.

It was a typical day for the prisoner workers at Mining Facility 26-A46. Routine was paramount in keeping everyone productive and managing expectations, even though for a prisoner, those expectations for anything out of the ordinary were already low or nonexistent. Asc was tasked with moving one of the pallets of cargo containers from the west side of the facility over to the storage depot on the east side, a task he'd performed at nausea these last few years, but this trip would change his life forever.

He was halfway the distance to the storage depot when an explosion rocked his body, throwing him onto the hard rocky surface and slamming him against a section of duracrete wall. Dust and gas plumed in every direction. Asc stumbled to his feet, his arm flaring with pain from the impact. He looked out toward the mining station, but the dust was so thick in the air it was hard to see. Workers were running in all directions followed by security officers who were either trying to keep the prisoners in line or escaping the chaos themselves. As his eyes adjusted to the surrounding area, he noticed a considerable amount of smoke rising from the rear of the station. Over the previous year he'd come to befriend a Defel named Thorn, often joking over hair grooming techniques and their mutual distaste of vegetables. Asc knew that Thorn had been working maintenance in the rear of the facility which housed the stations reactors and cooling couplings. He wasn't about to let his friend be consumed in a fiery grave.

Asc Lonar

He rushed around the side of the facility, still fuzzy from the blast and not realizing a considerable tear in the arm of his protective suit. Once he rounded the building, his heart sank as he came face to face with the damage. The entire rear of the facility had collapsed, what hadn't been blasted across the rocky surface, sat in heaps of steaming rubble. Several other workers were scrambling across the surface and Asc acted quickly, gathering them together and immediately directing them to start clearing the rubble. Pretty soon others joined in including security personnel. Bodies of workers began to be salvaged, many injured with sever burns, some dead. Over the next few hours Asc as well as the other workers and security personnel recovered dozens of miners, helping to load them on transport ships bound for the medical station in orbit.

Working through the evening and exhausted Asc's hope of finding his friend was slipping and as they entered into the decimated reactor room, clearing out the dead or injured matinence workers, he finally succumbed to defeat. The rest of the facilities personnel and workers were transferred to a nearby barracks of another strip-mining facility 26-A47 where they would be kept until reassignment. Asc was housed in quarters already home to four workers, but his exhaustion didn't care and he passed out on a blanket on the stone floor.

Over the next several days, agents from ISB arrived and questioned all of the workers of 26-A46. Many of the workers were reassigned to cleanup crews, responsible for removing and discarding the rubble that filled the back of the facility. Asc was temporarily exempt from the reassignment due to falling ill from the toxins that made its way into his suit during his impromptu rescue operation. Sitting on a bench in a small room void of anything but a table and a few push carts housing portable batteries, Asc was interrogated by Agent Arya Soulis of the ISB about his friend Thorn. The questions made his head swim as accusations of sabotage and being a spy for the Zaan Consortium were thrown at him. "That doesn't sound like Thorn," he kept explaining to Agent Soulis, but as the facts and evidence were presented, the truth ultimately became clear. It didn't matter to Asc. Thorn was his friend and Asc didn't owe any allegiance to the Galactic Empire.

A month after the explosion it was if nothing had ever happened. The repairs to the facility had been made, Vice President Ki had made sure of it's immediacy, and the remaining workers along with a shipment of new volunteer prisoners were already falling back into routine. News of Asc's quick thinking and cobbled together rescue team spread quickly over the planet and even reached the ears of the Chief of Corrective Services, John Bell who put in a recommendation for early release. Asc would never forget that harrowing moment and as he stepped aboard a transport only three months later a free Bothan, he would remember his friend Thorn.

Fedalle II

The subzero temperatures of Fedalle II