New Washington

System: Copernicus

Sector: Primus

One of the most important planets in the Terran Protectorate, New Washington is a bustling core world that handles much of the commerce for the Protectorate. While New Washington is a well-rounded world that is home to a wide variety of industries, it is most known for being the home of most of the Protectorate’s banking institutions and for its scientific research.

The planet is temperate, but has never developed life. This is probably due to a recent history of bombardment by meteors from the nearby asteroid belt, which only settled down in the last million years or so. However, the planet took well to seeding by foreign life forms, though large swaths remain bare rock free of life. The seas are rich with all manner of game fish and large life forms that were brought from Earth, and scientific research of the growing sperm whale population has led to heated debates that sperm whales may actually be considered a sentient species.

The power structures on the planet are dominated by the Davinchians and the Pyathenar Scholari, though the Azure Sept has significant influence as well. The scientific community has both Davinchians and Pyathenians in large numbers, but the Pyathenar Scholari dominate the commerce industry, and thus the planet. However, the Davinchians are a powerful political voice that thwarts their fellow clan from time to time and whose influence is growing.

Citizens of New Washington are truly a sampling of all the clans. The only clan that has very little representation there is Clan Hannu, but that’s true of all the Protectorate core worlds. Thus New Washington tends to embody the example of a typical, diverse planet in the Terran Protectorate.

The planet is a crucial strategic asset. It is a lynchpin in the Protectorate’s economy, and much of its research and development occurs on the planet or on (or in orbit over) one of the six other planets in the Copernicus Star System. Numerous prototype technologies are first tested in the far reaches of New Washington, including new vehicles and weapons for the Terran Protectorate Stellar Navy and Colonial Marines. There are dozens of zones of restricted air space on the planet, and the research facilities that are usually located in the barren regions of the planet are often protected by private armies.

Population: 720 million on planet, with another 30 million in orbit or on the moon

Controlling Clan: Pyathenar Scholari and Davinchians

Diameter: 9,020 miles

Atmosphere: Earth-like, with a slightly higher oxygen content (can cause newcomers light headedness for 1D4 hours while they adjust; -1 to all combat rolls and -10% to all skill rolls until the body adjusts).

Average Temperature Range: 15° F – 89° F (-9° -- 31.6°C)

Gravity: .98 G

Calendar: New Washington is nearly 1.5 A.U.s from Copernicus, giving it a year of 520 earth days and 402 New Washington days. Its day is 31 hours long.

Satellites: New Washington has two moons; Arlington and Bethesda. Arlington is very similar to Earth’s moon. Bethesda is a red moon, rich in heavy metals, and has its own strong magnetic field that interacts with New Washington’s giving rise to occasional planet-wide aurora displays. Bethesda is heavily mined and settled, with a population of 23 million. There are also five major space stations; four are Sky Cities, catering to corporations (two are corporate headquarters), and the last is an O’Neill Cylinder known as Babel-2. It has a population of three million residents and is run by Clan Davinchian. It is generally considered to be the political seat of the clan’s power.

Defense Assets: A major task force is stationed in the Copernicus System, based out of a small Naval space station orbiting Kriewall; a gas giant in the outer system. It consists of a battleship, six cruisers, three escort carriers, two dozen destroyers, eight frigates, and a fleet of 50 pinnaces and other support craft. About half the task force is present in-system at any given time. The rest are performing various duties within the Primus Sector. The fleet is often the testbed for new starship and fighter designs, and one of Kriewall’s moons is a highly secretive naval research facility. There are additionally at least 20 military pinnaces on or near New Washington at any given time, and there are airbases able to field over 600 fighter craft in minutes. For ground defense, there are several Colonial Marine bases on the planet with over a million battle-ready troops total. And if a serious threat to the entire planet reared its head, there are probably three times as many private security forces that could coordinate with the military. Many of them have advanced technology that’s too expensive or experimental for military use.