A solar system set in a distant time does not mean a utopia place where all problems are solved. Far from it, as the basis for Solar Stories is people everywhere. People everywhere means competition and politics everywhere.
We’re also not talking about magically fast travel. A quick trip between planets may take weeks, and moving across the solar system may put you into months of travel. Solar Stories is not like 21st century Earth. It’s far more like the age of sail, only much bigger. This combination of travel time and immense size creates opportunities, and people always take opportunities. So whilst there are some tremendous large-scale belief systems and political structures, a lot of space is filled with different ways of doing things. Let’s take a look at one.
The Empire of Darlor
Six hundred or so years ago, Fabien Darlor was a successful salvager. His family’s ship, ‘The Wake of the Great’, had been in operation for over a century, and the Darlors spent most of their time finding mined-out asteroids and dismantling the abandoned mines and settlements. Now and then, they’d score a pile of processed and abandoned ingots of nickel or similar metal.
That was until they found asteroid “267654-876-9875”. Instead of the usual fit for scrap-only leftovers, it contained a nearly functional mining outpost complete with a working dock. Once upon a time, someone had taken the time to mothball this place. Now they were gone; better still, records of the original owners did not exist.
Fabien claimed the salvage and started the process of inhabiting the asteroid. His family set about the renovation, and Fabien declared himself king.
More families
One family on an asteroid does not an empire make. So Fabien’s next move was to make his discovery a freeport and offered the first families to join his kingdom shares in its operations (and, of course, noble titles).
More Asteroids
One asteroid is good, and more asteroids are better. So as time went on, Darlor moved minor nearby asteroids into complimentary close orbits of his kingdom. He had more territory and more resources.
Trial by Combat
Going from an acquirer of resources to a recognisable political force is never easy. Knowing this, Darlor started to build a fleet. He started small by arming existing vessels with an explicit licence to operate on behalf of his fledgling empire. Although little more than space privateers, these were a start.
The next step was to use this force to establish the empire as a military and political power. For some time, Oleksland, a nearby and vibrant colony, had been refusing good trade terms of Darlor. Instead of further negotiation, Darlor ordered the seizing of the Oleksland docks and blockaded its traffic. The situation escalated quickly and turned bloody. The result was the seizing of Oleksland.
The Style of an Empire
What started as a place to live and run a business expanded into a force in its own right. Over the following centuries, the Empire of Darlor expanded. Used Fabien’s methods and lived up to a series of maxims.
- A motivated aristocracy is not necessarily a bad thing. Give titles for commitment.
- Responsibility matters – all actions should have consequences.
- Negotiate first, but never be afraid of hard-hitting action.
- Never look for more as a means in itself. Expansion must have a purpose.
The Key to Solar Stories Thinking
This single empire is a key to thinking about the places in Solar Stories. Everything came from the past and evolved uniquely, driven by the personalities involved. The Empire of Darlor started with a forgotten place and a man looking for a way to get others to help pay for a dream. The result was an aristocracy backed up pirates living among asteroids and space stations.
Stream of Consciousness 