Marajesh

The Restored World

System Overview: The Marajesh (plural: Marajeshi) system is composed of seven bodies orbiting a binary star. The first four planets are unsuited to human life and difficult to colonize for mining purposes, due to an asteroid belt that leads to frequent surface impacts. The fifth and sixth planets are tidally locked with a shared center of mass, but not close enough for spherical deformation. Both rotate on the same plane as the sun, with no tilt and drastic seasons. Large terrestrial oceans of both planets face each other, with primary landmasses gathered on outward side. An ancient base predating the Dark Age lies in the gravitational sweet spot between both worlds. The dual planet comprises the main population and current governmental seat of the Marajesh system. Marajesh I and II are roughly 1.4 and .9 times Earth-mass, respectively. They both share a 15 hour day, although night on Marajesh II is never fully dark due to the huge sight of Marajesh I dominating the night sky and the reflective diamond landscape in many regions. The seventh planet is a gas giant with multiple moons, a mining colony and star base.   CIVILIZATION DEVELOPMENT *based on DU Primer version received: 10.10.2013   Pre Dark Age: Marajesh I is the larger of the dual planets and settled first due to its oxygen rich atmosphere, liquid water ocean, plentiful resources and diversity ecosystem. The original settlers lived in dense, self contained, citadel-like arcologies, choosing to interact sparingly with the biosphere. The original settlers’ primary scientific focus lay in the manipulation of gravity fields, as their scientists soon determined the danger of a planetary impact was either miscalculated or deliberately hidden from the initial colony ship. Current Marajeshi scholars theorize that the base centered between both planets served some function in stabilizing their shared center of mass. Their second objective lay in colonizing Marajesh II. The planet has a much higher carbon content, a ‘gem planet’ with kilometers thick diamond and titanium deposits that the original settlers used for optics, computing tech and ship manufacturing. The process to convert the methane/carbon monoxide atmosphere, and sludge-like oceans--using drones and algae synthesized from Marajesh I--took hundreds of years. Just as the planet was declared safe for 50,000 first-generation, non-robotic terraformer families...the mysterious Dark Age ensued. Dark Age: The Dark Age was an utter disaster for the burgeoning civilization on both worlds. The Marajesh II colonists were completely cut off from any support of the primary world. To their terror they also discovered the existence of crustacean-like creatures with diamond shells that preyed on the colonists for food. These organisms survived in pockets of the old biosphere (similar to cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula) and possessed low level swarm intelligence. The Marajesh II colonists’ existence soon fell into basic survival and defense against the hardy and vicious lifeform. On Marajesh I people were forced to abandon their powerless citadels and learn the ecosystems they had largely divorced from their day-to-day existence. The planet possesses polar ice caps, and mixed forests and smaller inland seas on the major land mass. Volcanism occurs primarily under the main tidally locked ocean mass, called the “Boiling Sea”. The planetary ecology differs radically in between landform barriers such as between mountain ranges and a few primary, massive rivers. Microbial and plant life are apex predators, and rapidly evolve to spread within their immediate environment. Billions of people lost their lives on Marajesh I during the Dark Age. Those that survived developed specific crop knowledge, as well as immunities to pathogens in their immediate environment. People soon discovered that their individual groups were not suited for life in regions with drastically different ecologies. People also learned that their induction into the local ecology often also drastically altered their interactions with other people. (Example: peoples of mountain-dwelling region A might be considered asymptomatic plague carriers to inland sea island dweller B, but share high fertility rates with river inhabitants C). This development evolved into a very complicated caste and trade system among the peoples of different regions, creating ethnic groups based not only on region, but on bio-compatibility with other region-groups. Natural resources on Marajesh I were abundant across regions and climate, so entrenched conflict between organized groups did not become a defining cultural element. Extensive migration was limited due to the landscape barriers and social repercussions. Groups living in zones of intersecting climate and/or landforms (such as people inhabiting river bank areas) developed the highest levels of resistance to multiple ecologic zones. These people procured high regard among inhabitants of other territories due to their ability to traverse multiple regions and serve as go betweens, far-ranging merchants, messengers and heralds. These are early forerunners to establishing planet-wide networks and eventually government. Another defining cultural marker was the extreme sense of loss felt by the inhabitants of Marajesh for their brethren in the sky. A major underpinning theme of the various regions' culture is linked to the dangerous journey by boat to the islands of the tidally locked ocean. This is a historical throwback to the earliest days of the Dark Age, when Marajesh I still searched for landed escape pods from the base or ships. Post Dark Age: A desperate ancestral need passed down to discover if lost colonists still survived eventually fueled the Marajeshi civilization’s return to space. Basic communication tech failed to gain any signal from Marajesh II, and the colonists were all believed dead. First expeditions to the planet proved otherwise. Marajesh II forged the colonists' descendants into a hardened offshoot of formidable warriors that held the hope of rescue alive for generations. Reunification is among the most sacred of the Marajeshi observances, occurring once a generation. Marajeshi will break all other ties to return to the homeworld, even if it means abandoning an active battlefield in a distant system. Marajeshi politics is complex, but ultimately rooted in pacifism. The Marajesh II inhabitants typically form the basis of the system’s military, personified by their elite shock troops. The Marajesh II descendants easily slipped into an honored role within the established caste system, and the prospect of a military coup in the government is highly unlikely due to the cultural breach that would entail, and an endless frustration among Marajeshi rivals in the Known. Current Regard with Other Civilizations: The Marajeshi were constantly scrutinized by the Cassad Empire as a wild card in the balance of the Known. Foreign diplomats to the Marajesh system often need to undergo a battery of inoculations that can take decades to complete just to set foot on the home world. Outlooks, biases and cultural mores among the Marajeshi people are nearly impossible for foreign diplomats to decipher. If emissaries do not catch some fever and die, their trips are often plagued by vertigo due to the planet’s overlapping magnetic field and unique spin. Diplomats sent to Marajesh are typically regarded to be out of favor with their homeworld governments. The Cassad Empire never fully trusted the Marajeshi, despite their acceptance of Cassad rule without a military takeover--one of the [few?] systems that did not need to be conquered with force. Marajeshi ships are terrifying to encounter, but unbalanced in terms of overall fleet diversity. They also do not boast a huge fleet or tremendous tactical prowess in relation to other systems such as the Arcadians, preferring instead subterfuge and specialized weaponry attacks. Marajeshi ship design is considered among the more bizarre by other people of the Known, heavily influenced by centrifugal forces and their unique knowledge of gravity manipulation. Some Known scientists speculate that the debris field among the inner planets of the Marajesh system was caused by gravitational testing which destroyed an eighth planet--but this assertion is hotly denied by Marajeshi historians. The military freely uses gravity based weapons, such as the feared piloted suicide craft [name] that can wipe out entire fleet wings with one singularity bomb. Under Cassad rule, the Marajeshi were some of the most reviled forces in the Known--once wiping out an entire system [possibly the Reddeg?] with a [Planet Eater] device. Marajeshi assassins [name] possess a Typhoid-Mary like ability to eliminate targets with bio-toxins, and no discernible tech or implants. Some systems don’t even allow Marajeshi crewmen aboard their ships for fear their bio filters will miss some recently evolved bug in a contaminant sweep. Diamond reavers are unique paramilitary units renowned for their cold fearlessness in battle. They often perform zero-g space jumps against enemy ships in cloak and dagger military strikes. The sound of their drills burning through an outer bulkhead is often a sleeping enemy crew’s only warning before their ship is depressurized. During land-based hand to hand combat, their [diamond hide crustacean name] armor blinds opponents and confuses targeting systems. Marajeshi dominant foreign policy is built on the scientific belief that the rest of the Known is in need of reunification, just as their own system required. Marajeshi engage in warfare only in self defense, or in the belief that another system has fallen into a [state of defilement]. This extreme form of ostracism was once reserved for people from ecological regions so noxious and life threatening, they were killed on sight if they ventured from their homelands. During the Fall of the Cassad, the Marajesh adopted this stance against the Empire and joined the New Regime as one of the seven major "Second Tier" systems. They view the war against the Cassad more as a mercy kill than a means to gain power. Marajesh people as a whole often possess a cultural bias against ‘needless tech’ and believe their own interconnected state within their planet’s biosphere is something to be emulated by other systems. They particularly loath Brython peoples for their extensive use of robotics, making their alliance in the New Regime tense at times.

created by DaVaun Sanders