|
| Trevel'ka | |
| Astrographical Information | |
|---|---|
| Region |
Unknown Regions |
| Sector |
Rai Sector |
| Suns |
1 |
| Physical Description | |
| Class |
Terrestrial |
| Atmosphere |
Breathable, barely |
| Primary Terrain |
Ecologically wrecked |
| Societal Information | |
| Native Species |
Rai |
| Immigrated Species | |
| Official Language | |
| Population |
14 billion (4 billion Rai, 10 billion other) |
| Former Affiliation | |
| Affiliation | |
| Exodus Information | |
| Creator | |
From orbit, Trevel'ka is a scar of a world, devastated by millennia of mining and technological progress with zero regard for the environment. It is home to some of the galaxy's largest refugee camps.
History[]
The homeworld of the Uul'ba-Rai, Trevel'ka began enslaving and colonizing nearby systems as soon as its inhabitants developed the most rudimentary interstellar flight capacity. Standard procedure was to enslave entire species, and frequently to deport them to Trevel'ka or one of its original colonies. The lithovorous Uul'ba-Rai, not requiring organic nutrients - and seeing forests as annoying obstacles - have, over the years, turned the surface of their worlds into a mass of mines, factories and waste dumps. Mortality was always very high for slave species.
Only since revolution replaced the Uul'ba-Rai Imperium with the Rai Republic has Trevel'ka been the subject of any kind of environmental modification, and even that is a stopgap. The world is dying. Millions are emigrating to orbital colonies or other Jade Empire worlds. Tunnels and underground cities are being covered with domes, which in less than a century will hold the only breathable air on the planet.
Due to the large numbers of inhabitants trying to emigrate, the Jade Empire Armed Forces have their largest recruitment centre on Trevel'ka, as well as their largest training facilities. A sizeable shipyard orbits one of the planet's LaGrange points. As the main world closest to the Kartanin Dominion and Celesta, Trevel'ka channels a great deal of trade. The spaceports are surrounded by massive cities and camps, home to millions who want to leave Trevel'ka. Many willingly sell themselves into indentured servitude or worse in exchange for passage offworld. Although the practice is strictly illegal and its proprietors are considered slavers, enforcement is a major challenge. Huge factories have sprung up, seeking to take advantage of cheap labor while employing as many as possible. These factories run the gamut from government-owned to privately held, with every degree of subsidy in between. The main challenge these factories face is that raw materials are difficult to obtain, except by expensive mass import or by deep mining; still, the low labor costs offset this factor enough.
It is difficult to grow food on Trevel'ka. Many in the camps live off Bedjies and similar fare. Nevertheless, the population is expanding rapidly, at a high rate of roughly 4% per year.
The legendary Jukre sage Hagron has spent several years on Trevel'ka, using the strange and profound 'tuning' ability to alleviate the pervasive despair. He anticipates many more years of effort.
Crime is rampant. The sheriffs, including Kalo-Kaa and some of his fellow Patriots, are stretched to their limits. For example, the fugitive Ashin Varanin, while suffering from the effects of Shadow Poison, spent several months killing rapists and murderers in the Trevel'ka slums, and living off the meager proceeds. She was never investigated, likely because the sheriffs cannot effectively police a slum of fourteen billion people. A few Patriots, having been drawn to the Dark Side by despair and frustration, have abused prisoners or perpetrated other crimes; they are vigorously prosecuted when unmasked. Garrett G. Granth IV and Asemir Lor'kora killed some of them while in the employ of Velok.