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Stars Without NumberThe year is 3200, centuries after the collapse of human civilization across thestars in an event still known only as 'The Scream' !ne ni"ht, almost all

psychics in #nown Space $ie$, an$ interstellar tra$e an$ civilization collapse$as the core $escen$e$ into silence an$ anarchy % few worl$s stru""le$ to hol$on to what little they ha$& for every one where humanity maintaine$ a tenuous"rip, ten $ie$ ventually, slowly, thin"s be"an to improve The few $rive(capable ships that remaine$ operate$ a mar"inal tra$e network, an$ thesecrets of technolo"y were restore$

To$ay, in the Sar"asso )luster, interstellar travel is "ra$ually returnin" Secretswhich have been the *ealous property of "overnments an$ billionaires havebeen transforme$ overni"ht by a spectacular $iscovery, a cache of spike $rives

left over from the $ays of the Terran +an$ate, enou"h to "ive the )orporateWarlor$s of olkhov the opportunity to reach out across the stars, an$ unleasha wave of in$epen$ent scouts an$ tra$ers Without -uestion, the )luster isabout to be transforme$, but what its final form mi"ht be, no(one can say

olkhov ./opulation 1,000,000!ne of the first worl$s settle$ by humanity as far back as the 23r$ century,olkhov was claime$ by a "roup of aerospace companies from the 4ussian5nion as a base of operations within the cluster& it succee$e$ beyon$ itswil$est $reams, an$ ha$ one of the stron"est economies of #nown SpaceTerraformin" transforme$ the worl$ from a $esolate wastelan$ into a planet fit

for humanity, with factory comple6es revolvin" in orbit that service$ hun$re$sof starships a $ay The collapse chan"e$ all of that& the mana"e$ biospherecollapse$ in an or"y of $estruction, an$ the entire population of the planet was$ea$ within twenty years

The orbital habitats survive$, each of them maintainin" an uneasy truce afteran initial perio$ of conflict over scarce materials 7inally, the )ouncil of)omman$ers met to $eci$e on a "ran$ pro*ect& the resettlement of olkhov 8twoul$ not be easy, but the habitats were failin", life support systemscollapsin" The colonization effort re-uire$ total commitment of all resources,but $espite several narrow escapes, was a success

olkhov's new population was use$ to space stations, an$ most of them electe$to "roup to"ether, constructin" a hu"e arcolo"y $esi"ne$ to support the entirepopulation of the planet, supporte$ by a network of lar"ely automate$a"ricultural comple6es The planet's four moons provi$e the raw material for ahun$re$ in$ustrial revolutions, an$ are not e6pecte$ to run $ry for millenniaThou"h almost the entire population lives in olkhov"ra$, that $oes notmeanthat they are a unifie$ people, -uite the reverse

/lanetary unity barely laste$ a century& a system of "overnment(owne$

corporations broke $own in a flurry of privatization, an$ "reat $evastation wascause$ by fi"htin" in the streets of the city, as well as warfare ami$ the orbitalstations an$ prospectin" bases This perio$ically still flares up& olkhov is 'run'

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by a collection of )orporate Warlor$s, each fi"htin" with the others for power,wealth an$ influence 9 thou"h they haveall a"ree$ that when it comes tofacin" the outsi$e universe, their interests coinci$e %t least, for the present

Worl$s of the 7irst 6pansion8n the initial recovery of starfli"ht, scouts sponsore$ by the )orporate Warlor$shave visite$ several local systems, with several repeat visits :ra$ually, publicknowle$"e of the area beyon$ olkhov is be"innin" to seep into the localpopulation& in$ee$, the rulin" classes are alrea$y venturin" to the closestsystems in a wave of million(cre$it tourism 8nterstellar travel, while not acommonplace event, no lon"er makes the ni"htly news as it once $i$

Tra$e is be"innin" to open up as never before, an$ these worl$s are "rowin"wise to the ways of the travellin" merchant& furthermore, on these planets thespectre of competition with other olkhovian tra$ers, or potentially others fromfurther afiel$, is present !n the other han$ 9 there is likely to be a frien$ly faceto contact for assistance, if such is necessary

Thra6is ./opulation ;10,000)ut off since the Scream, Thra6is has proven to be one of the most welcomin"planets yet contacte$& the locals, mostly of a philosophic bent, are ea"er fornew cultural contacts an$ information

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!f all the worl$s in the cluster, this is the one that appears to have comeclosest to the brink 4ecor$s are uncertain at best, but there is plenty ofphysical evi$ence for the catastrophe that hit this planet in the form of still("lowin" ra$ioactive craters where cities once stoo$ 7eral tribes still survive inthe wil$erlan$s, rapi$ly re"ressin" to a primitive culture as the last remainin"technolo"y $ecays 4umours persist of enclaves of civilization hi$$en

somewhere in the wastelan$s, but no evi$ence of this has yet been foun$ Theplanet is provin" a site of interest to archaeolo"ists 9 an$ scaven"ers

Worl$s of the Secon$ 6pansion

The ?ost Worl$s