Scorpio Outposts

Summary

Roughly a third the size of the Griton stations in Sol, these military outposts went mobile recently. Large thrusters and great tug ships moved together to reposition the outposts at their current location on the rim of Phirruden space.

Positioned as the physical and ideological front-line between the xenophobic Phirruden and outside groups, the Scorpio Outposts are a hotbed of political activity. With large garrisons of Den-Si military forces comprising the bulk of the population these outposts are tightly controlled points of entry to the rest of Phirruden space.

Outsiders traveling onto the floating complexes find trade constantly occurring as the efforts of interested commercial parties opens doors into the Phirruden society. Each outpost is specifically designated to handle a specific range of goods, while trade managers stand ready to bar any exchange deemed unfit or illegal based on local laws. That does not go to say there isn't a healthy underbelly to the outposts' exchange, where hasn't smuggling managed to penetrate? Yet on the Scorpios such activity is a risky business.

At night the cantinas and few points of recreation the stations are full of mingling off-duty military and civilian personnel. Outside, the trade-floors never sleep.

History

Ucual Control Points

During its years of isolation the Ucual system was under the heavy-handed watch of its primary power, the Ucual Corporation. Keeping power wouldn't be easy, as the population of their test-subjects exploded rapidly. In efforts to remain in control of their dirty secrets Ucual worked to ensure a healthier spread of the population to keep groups isolated. To facilitate the company invested heavily in the development of the Scorpio Outposts.

The first was built by robotic AI and teams of Syntek on the colonization of the system, the rest following in subsequent years. In the foundational days everything from colonization missions to gene-born colonists stemmed from the militarized control outposts.

Reports have been taken by Phirrukup civilians who state the facilities were used in the earliest days as detention and re-education centers for dissenters who spoke up against the Ucual Corporation and its actions. Its unknown how widespread or what truth lies behind these claims, but testimonies about this shady past have made it to the few court cases filed under broken Neo-Geneva Convention charter.

Fallen Glory

Not many people realize that the Ucual system cover up was unraveled by persons both inside and without. Inside discontent grew amongst a small portion of the Phirrus population while under the Ucual Corporation's strict governance, a sect that would later spawn the larger minority of the Phirrukup. Their unrest caused problems for Ucual that resulted in careless mistakes. Outside the truth slowly began to unravel as bank audits showed errors, excessive spending on undocumented projects, and a new products stemming from absent development facilities.

As the truth unraveled and investigation teams from Astrum flowed into corporate offices demanding records in Sol, the Scorpio Outposts in Ucual were put into high gear. Across the system the outposts worked to destroy records, cut ties to local Phirrus groups deemed as liabilities in any manner possible, and strove to ensure the truth of their work would remain hidden in inaccessible volumes of corporate bile.

Some Phirrukup report that there were two other Scorpio Outposts scrapped during this rampant cover-up period. Reports indicate that these two stations were host to some of the worst crimes against humanity perpetrated in the name of business and science by the corporation, though no proof exists. Astrum agents speculate that the two missing stations were jettisoned into the sun.

Front-line Defenses

Ucual was gone, removed from power by a unified team of Inner Sol Alliance and Jovian League forces lead by independent Astrum agents. A void formed as a newly liberated people looked in the sky and saw symbols of their former oppression floating in the nights sky, the Scorpios. While some saw liberty others saw another power replacing a lesser one disposed, and while the new power claimed its intentions how could it be believed? How could the people be sure that safety would reign as a new outsider group took control and ruled with an iron grasp over what should never have been theirs?

The split formed here. The schism that divided the Phirrus and created the subcultures of the Phirruden and Phirrukup. Divided by the questions that the Scorpio Outposts and the liberation from Ucual posed - around security, sovereignty, and safety.

The Phirruden moved new leaders to the front in this time. Rallying behind powerful political figures with mighty messages they moved quickly to bar the entry of foreigners who would, "Bring the same contempt for life as the company who lead them here."

It was a radical position that emerged almost overnight in a slightly violent revolt that saw the hasty retreat of Sol forces - forces that didn't care to injure the people it had come to save. The news had a field-day speculating the next move in the weeks of relative silence that followed as the Phirruden majority extended its power and established some semblance of a governing body. When the pawing for territory settled the Phirruden held the Scorpio Outposts and roughly 65% of the remainder of the system.

While few lives had been lost on both sides, the losses stung and further polarized positions until the whole situation were beyond even the top Ifus Mediators control. Thus positioned the Phirruden continued to suprise the outside world with seemingly outlandish demands for sovereignty and isolation in a time when such things rarely exist. Despite the problems faced in translating to the outside world, the Phirrden were able to display their intent at great expense by moving the Scorpio Outposts forward - establishing a front-line unlike any ever before seen in humanity's time in space.

"All trade and traffic would transit through or upon the Scorpio Outposts", the Phirruden leaders mandated. The outside worlds would remain at arm's length if they wished to deal at all with the true Phirrus.

Government & Culture

Den-Si Outpost

Governed by the Phirruden military forces, the Den-Si, the Scorpio Outposts are restrictive military bases through which civilian traffic is filtered. Some Phirruden isolationist advocates say that the constant traffic with outsiders has softened the military personnel on-board, but outside merchants bleat the opposite just as frequently.

In either case stations are often given to different degrees of strictness. Often the least restrictive are the ones governed by Commanders who have seen several years of deployment on the stations - those whose views might be aligned with the outside world internally. Still those same 'softies' as some outside traders have deemed them are to be approached carefully. Soft stations don't often stay that way long - with either the Commander or higher-ups requesting a transfer and instating a new chair.

Some of the best results on the stations have been attained by outside military personnel who recognize what it is like to simply do due-diligence to a cause.

Points of Interest

Trade Floors

The trade floors on the Scorpio Outposts begin in a great circular hall just beyond a small buffer zone designated as customs - lavishly converting the area other stations would call docks into a highly efficient trade floor. It’s this system that keeps outside traders close at hand, ensuring that the money and goods flow properly.

Once past customs Phirrus merchants stand at rented stations ready to take orders and make trades with incoming vessels. Runners flit about the trade floor, making sure goods make it where needed a safeguard against a merchant ignoring the digital messages sent non-stop to confirm, reject, alter, and dissolve trade agreements.

Many outside traders are put off by the restrictions imposed by the constant and overshadowing military presence, but for those who are able to cope with the restrictions and walk on the eggshells the rewards are great. The Phirrus have evolved a healthy economy already, having numerous settlements with ample resources, and have done a solid job of capitalizing on the rush of interest on their system - even if they have gone about it in a way that has stepped on many toes.

Dock-2-Shuttle

As with entering into some denser planetary atmospheres the Phirruden are strict regulators of the space traffic passing beyond these buffer outposts. Ships allowed past are often lightly or un-armed vessels with importance to trade or infrastructure. Smaller private mercenary vessels have a hard time passing through, their crews forced to disarm and leave their ship behind - a shuttle renter standing nearby ready to take their credits.

An interesting use of this policy has been to degrade and weaken the position of incoming foreign policy advisors and advocates from opposing government bodies such as the Jovian League and the ISA by forcing diplomatic envoys to stop and exchange vessels for a far cramped shuttle.

If the Phirruden are feeling incredibly unforgiving transit shuttles are sometimes given military escort under the watch of two or more fighters. These trips are harrowing, with some traders reporting experiences of near-fires on their vessel for erring even the slightest with manual path navigation.