Hi.


I was thinking about how things might one day look in the corners of thew galaxy we still know little about - most particularly, the Sargasso and Sigma Octants.

In the case of Sigma, the only indigenous faction we know (more or less) about that has a connection to it is the Echarri Dynasty, featured in the Omega timeline - but even they have no in-print rules or ships they used in Omega, let alone any they had used back in their home space (which they say they fled in the wake of a massive Andromedan invasion).

In the case of Sargasso, we have no known indigenous empires that reside there - but we do have a few candidates for factions that might have cause to show up there from time to time, as well as plenty of scope for new species to add to the mix.


Firstly, I recall that it was said somewhere that in Sargasso, there are pockets of stable interstellar terrain bracketed by large storm zones, that flare for several years at a time, die down for a relatively short while (allowing trade/conflict/etc) then kick off once more - which would make for a far more stop-start dynamic to intra-Octant relations than seen in Omega or Alpha.

So, one or more of these pockets can be given over to new arrivals, and work as a shielded enclave where consolidation (and plans for 'island-hoppping') can take place.


Secondly, we have at least two potential candidates from the Alpha Octant that could be added to the mix, in a similar manner as how the Paravians and FRA were added to Omega.

We have exile Carnivons, fleeing the Kzintis and Lyrans, and who may not have wished to stay in Delta Sector (or maybe they did, who knows?) - should they find a way to get across the Alpha-Sargasso Void, they would be a great choice, and one that SVC has commented on in the past.

We also have the Peladine - an idea of mine was that a colony fleet could have been launched just before the Lyrans conquered the Republic, and that the survivors fled either to Delta or Sargasso. The two species that almost were could then be a were-after-all!


From beyond the Alpha Octant, we have a number of potential new arrivals from known factions - such as the Tholians, Seltorians, Andromedans, Souldra, Loriyill (who, for whatever reason, may have chosen to leave a minor collective in Sargasso when withdrawing from their network of watchposts across the galaxy) Iridani (who had little luck with colony-building in Omega - maybe Sargasso is a more fertile ground for a new Duchy?) and Bolosco (not all of whom went to Omega, or even to our galaxy). Or, perhaps, even a Magellanic empire, such as the ancient but as-yet-undocumented Chomak?


Plus, are there any in-development (or in-storage) empires that have been lying around, but might do with a new home - and if so, perhaps Sargasso could be that home for one or more of them?


Perhaps one such empire could be, like the Iridani, explorers from a satellite galaxy - and that, in the way the Iridani could presumably do, they could circumvent the storm areas by flying directly to and from the safe zones directly, by passing through the energy barrier?

(Thus, the advantage of being able to partially circumvent the limitations of rival empires would be offset by the limited base of supplies from the island galaxy, the need to navigate the Barrier, and the distances involved - so would have to do what the Iridani do, in signing agreements to allow supply docks on the Sargasso side of the galactic barrier?)


Just a few ideas, but if anyone has thoughts about what they might like to see in Sargasso, please feel free to add them here!

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 11:54 am: Edit

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