Welcome to the Western Sectors, a region of space just beyond the reach of the larger galactic powers. This article goes into detail about the three major polities of the area: A species of aristocrat-ruled ace pilots, greatcoat-wearing paranoid militants, and the reclusive remnants of a once-great stellar society, plus an adventure involving two of the three powers.

The Wokro

Hailing from the planet Wokrona, the wokro are a species of purple-skinned, bald humanoids best known for their starship designs and pilots. The Wokro civilization is an aristocracy, ruled by a council of noble houses. Their most common spacecraft is the New Century Starfighter, a carrier-based single-seat fighter armed with paired pulse lasers.

Wokrona

The home planet of the wokro is one half of a binary planet system. It is a relatively small world, mostly covered in water and dotted with volcanic island chains. Its neighbor, Skaar, is a much drier world. The running hypothesis is that in the early days of the galaxy, Skaar and Wokrona were a single molten planet-to-be, before getting shorn in two by a high-speed impact.

Both planets have relatively low gravity, roughly 0.5 standard Gs. This, in combination with their proximity, allowed the wokro to land on another celestial body relatively early in their civilizational history. Since then, they have spent centuries refining their designs and spreading across the Western Sectors, eventually coming into contact with other spacefaring species.

Most other species view the wokro as insular and arrogant.

Magabarag Station

The westernmost settlement of the Wokro is Magabarag Base, a colony built on a moon of the volcanic planet of the same name. Most of Magabarag Base is underground. Docks and shipyard facilities take up most of the surface level, but a few businesses that cater to pilots are there as well. Capsule hotels, ration-bar sellers, parts sellers, and the like.

Elevators allow access to the lower levels. The first three levels below the surface are dedicated to military use, and can only be reached from specific elevators. Below that are the residential and industrial areas.

Level 8 sits in the middle of the residential area, and is filled with shops and entertainment venues. Its wide boulevards and plazas make it a very comforting place for the more claustrophobic residents, and both locals and spacers can be found here.

The Cove

The Cove is a sleazy bar on Level 8. Most of the clientele are yard dogs, the folks who work in the shipyards on the surface, but offworlders often stop in as well. Its signature drink is the Nerve Damage, a shot of strong alcohol mixed with mint flavoring.

The Nayn

The Nayn are tall, gaunt humanoids with large fangs and pointed ears. Their skin tones vary between gray, blue, and green. Nayn technology is durable, rugged, and twice the size of similar items from other societies.

Their home planet, Nayno, is an Earth-like world that has been rendered uninhabitable by centuries of fossil fuel use and warfare. The Nayn government is a senatorial republic. Senators represent various stations and colonies, alongside representatives for the military and the Church of the New Kingdom.

The Church of the New Kingdom is the largest religious movement among the Nayn. It stands staunchly opposed to any attempts to re-colonize the Nayn homeworld, and believes that a paradise will be discovered once the old world is abandoned and forgotten.

The Restorationists stand in opposition to the Church. The Restorationists believe that Nayno can be made habitable again, if they can build the right tools and put in enough effort. Some of them take this further, believing that this is not only a possibility, but the duty of the Nayn.

Tensions between these two groups constantly simmer just below the surface. A research station recently stopped reporting to the government, and this is threatening to make the tensions boil over.

There are regular allegations that one side or another is stockpiling weapons and preparing for a civil war. This is the truth, for both of them, as mutual paranoia drives the stakes higher and higher.

Research Station 30-32

30-32 is a cube-shaped space station orbiting a gas giant. Its interior is cramped and maze-like, with very little in the way of artistic flourishes. 30-32 is allegedly dedicated to observing the gas giant it orbits, seeking a way to terraform their own planet back to habitability. While they do some of that, in practice most of its resources are dedicated to exploring the Dead Skies, IFF codes they have figured out through brute force. Despite their attempts at secrecy, the unusual IFF codes are occasionally picked up by Wokro craft in the area.

30-32 has no facilities for visitors, but can provide repairs and fuel in case of an emergency.

The Kaltayn

The Kaltayn are a species of quadrupeds with purple skin. They have an upper torso, to which their arms and head are attached, and a lower torso, to which their legs are attached. Their legs are relatively close together, closer to the configuration of a spider’s legs than a horse’s. They have rhomboid heads, with the sharp point facing forward. They have two true eyes and two heat-sensitive “pits,” like a viper’s.

Kaltayn seats appear to be backward to humans and similar galactic denizens, with a cushion that they lean forward on instead of backward. As well, they use the color blue to indicate danger, and red to indicate safety.

The Kaltayn used to be a significant power in the Western Sectors, with colonies spread across several systems. Unfortunately, one of their largest colonies was struck by a stray gamma burst, which the Kaltayn interpreted as some unknown alien power’s first strike against them. In response, they retreated to their home system and spent several years building anti-FTL countermeasures and automated defenses at the edge of their system.

The lack of any communication, or even energy signatures, from within this system, combined with the complete inability to enter it, has led to it being named “The Dead Skies” by the greater galactic community. Ruins of their former colonies can be found on several planets, and while “the Dead” are commonly hypothesized to be the people that built those colonies, it is considered a fringe theory.

The Dead Line

An evenly spaced line of weapons platforms encircles the Dead Skies. Most of these are asteroid-mounted projectile weapons, using their base for ammunition. The vast majority of these remain operational, but there are a few holes in the network where defenses have malfunctioned, been destroyed, or simply run out of ammunition. Some say that pirates sneak in and out of the Dead Skies by running on minimum emissions and coasting for a long while.

Adventure: Shoot the Runner

Overview

A pirate crew has stolen a spy ship disguised as a noble family’s yacht and attempted to evade pursuit by heading into the Dead Skies. They sustained severe damage while passing through the Dead Line, and the party must decide how to handle the situation.

Magarab Station has a relatively small shipyard, mostly used for repairing the ships of the Fifth Fleet. A noble family calling in a favor to get one of their personal ships repaired at a military yard wouldn’t be unheard of, but having it built entirely in a military yard would be strange.

The Black Rose is disguised as a yacht with the colors and regalia of a minor noble house. It is designed to pass a cursory examination, but anyone who starts poking around will quickly discover the advanced sensor arrays, prototype engine, and other features.

Sy’ten does not know what he has got his hands on. As far as he was aware, this was exactly what it looked like: A noble yacht undergoing minor repairs right on the fringe, a perfect target for a steal and scrap operation.

Dramatis Personae

Briefing

Exarch Dem’yen Boreezo summons the party to his office, whether they were sent here by the military, responded to a call for aid, or just happened to dock at Magabarab station

“Welcome to Magabarab Station. I am Exarch Dem’yen Boreezo, commander of this place,” he gestures with both arms, indicating the whole area, “and the Fifth Fleet of the Royal Wokro Aerospace Force. We have need of the services of a group like yours. A ship under our care has been stolen, and the Fleet would be unsuited to this sort of recovery work.” He presses both hands together, pulls them apart, and sets them flat-palmed on his desk.

“The ship is the Black Rose, a yacht owned by House D’seo.” He lifts his left hand palm up on the word ‘yacht.’ “It was entrusted to us for repairs but, unfortunately, it has fallen into the hands of pirates. The Fleet attempted to chase it down, but had to break off when the ship began heading towards the Dead Skies.” He waves a hand dismissively. “We are, of course, forbidden to even attempt entry to the Dead Skies by our treaty with the Nayn. And,” he makes a circular gesture with one hand, “the network of automated defense turrets that surround the region.”

“You will, of course, be compensated if you can return the Black Rose to us.” He makes a chopping motion with his left hand. “If you have to destroy it, well… the compensation will be much lower, certainly.”

Asking around the station reveals that sensors picked up the Black Rose heading straight for the Dead Skies, before its power signature suddenly disappeared.

Unfortunately for Sy’ten and his pirate crew, this has not worked out for them. The Black Rose is now adrift, with one of its engines destroyed. Near it, there is a weapons platform covered in glowing blue lines. It is not pointed at the Black Rose currently, but it is pointed at where the Rose was approximately half an hour ago.

The weapons platform, which consists of a plasma cannon and a sensor array, reacts to any sudden change in velocity or energy signature. The Dead Line’s weapons are set up to ignore asteroids and other such debris, but will react to anything they perceive as an invading ship. As long as they stay beyond the Line’s detection range, which is 1000 km, the weapons system will not fire on them regardless of what the party does.

My intended course of action is for the party to calculate a ballistic trajectory to intercept the Black Rose without having to adjust their course mid-intercept, but any clever plan the party comes up with is fine.

If the party boards the Black Rose, the pirates will be agitated and prone to violence, but they can be talked down with some effort. After all, a firefight on the Rose might activate the Dead Line weapons platform again.

The Black Rose can be towed out as long as it is moved slowly, or if some trickery is used to fool the weapons platform. The sensors are very simple, and are not augmented by any sort of intelligence.

Upon return to Magabarag Station, the party receives a large amount of money (equivalent to roughly half the value of their ship, as a guideline) and a general sense that the Exarch owes them a favor.

Afterword

It’s been nice to talk about the wokro some more! They first appeared in our After\\Burner adventure, Skies of Sitari, and have been a recurring feature of my Galactic Commonwealth universe articles.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. Let me know if you’re interested in more regions and species for sci-fi settings!

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