Avalon Sector
The Avalon Sector is a largely unexplored region at the edge of the Delta Quadrant. This sector's primary research station is Deep Space 285. The sector is known for a dangerous but traversable region of space known as the Briar Patch, or the Klach D'Kel Brakt, in Klingon.
The Federation has an strong interest in maintaining a Starfleet presence in this sector, near the Ba'ku, whose planetary eco-system is home to a ring system emanating regenerative metaphasic radiation. At the end of it's first contact mission, USS Enterprise-E ascertained the Ba'ku are continuously threatened by the Son'a.
Following the resignation of Rear Admiral Michael Samuelson (Retired) after a dubious investigation of Capt. Tyr Waltas, Starfleet has assigned Rear Admiral Richard Hart as Avalon's Interim Commander. Following the events at Genura III, Ambassador Susan Ginsburg is on a diplomatic mission to the Saurian Empire[1].
Discovered Systems and Phenomenae
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The Saurian Empire
A caste-based society governed by a monarchy. There are currently 3 known castes including the monarchy itself, it's military, and the Genuran minority, who may be an offshoot of ancient Saurians.
The Saurians call themselves The Great Community an Empire that is just beginning to expand. It consists of a cast systems with each Saurian is born into and usually tends to adhere to but is not bound. Any Saurian may choose to serve a different caste to which he was born, however. All castes have different facets and depending on which cast a Saurian was born may limit his options in other cast. Such as a Warrior cast born serving in the Religious cast as only a Paladin or law giver but not a monk.
Each caste has its own group of elders that governs each class and a number of elected representatives that petition the Emperor in a Quorum also known as the High Order. Saurian law dictates that everything is at the discretion and ownership of the Emperor. The Quorum, a recent historical development, and provides the best avenue for Federation diplomacy, as it is a somewhat democratic body. They represent their caste and swath of community make policy for internal needs. Foreign affairs are the primary purview of the Emperor the Quorum can vote on recommendations but only the Emperor can set the policy with regards to the rest of the galaxy.
The High Order
If there is such a thing as an elite class of Saurian it is the Noble Cast also part of the Saurian High Order. This cast is comprised of Saurian’s closely related to the Emperor primarily of the Warriors, Religious, and Artisans cast. As the Emperor owns everything according to Saurian law, the Emperor delegates his responsibility to the Nobility primarily on financial matters. He may give governorship to one of his relatives of certain ship yards or mining privileges to another to oversee. Whole planets may be given governorship as a relative to the Emperor. One constant in all of the Great Community is the Emperor will give and take at any time without notice. This is especial true in the Noble Cast where governors change constantly.
The Religious Order
The Religious Order is made up of a deeply spiritual people dedicated to preserving the ancient traditions of the Saurians and upholding the tenants of faith. This caste is perhaps as old as the Warrior caste (and perhaps as old as the Tonlan Warrior Caste), as their work in the spiritual needs of the Saurians but also the needs of law, dating back to the earliest recorded Saurian legal texts.
Though all legal disputes are handled within the cast themselves there is usually a representative from the Religious Order involved in other casts affairs. Although for most of their recorded history, Religious Order members have been primarily monks, community parishioners, and consultants of ancient law, they have been branching out into more militant wings for the sake of protecting tradition. This militant wing is called Paladins. A highly trained and powerful order that use exotic weapons and defenses that closely ties to their religious history. This Paladin order is supported by the Emperor and the Warrior cast.
The Order of Warriors
The Order of Warriors is one of the oldest castes, second to the Religious Order, which dedicate themselves to the protection of the Saurian people. They fight the battles that need to be waged. They serve on military and civilian vessels and are trained in a variety of ways. For many centuries the ruling party has consisted of mainly the warrior caste.
The Saurians have been roaming the galaxy for as long as they can record and have needed a firm ruling body that can best protect its people. Though extremely rigid, where deviation from order results in brutal punishment and ostracization, the Warrior castes military tradition is based on a thin line between religious edict and legal precedent.
Ironically, almost every component of the Warrior cast has deep ties to the Religious Order. Yet all members of the Order of Warriors are taught to not allow personal beliefs to interfere with duty. This caste has been the buffer between the other cast and their differing beliefs and is arguably the most diversified Order consisting of a great deal of members from different casts.
The Order of Artisans
The Order of Artisans is the most difficult to enter. Those born or accepted into the Artisan’s Order aspire to be great musicians, painters, and sculptures yet most are born into it and because of its prestige stay in it at least as menial workers for the best opportunities. To be in the Artisan’s guild is to be considered most fortunate. Menial sanitation workers from the workers caste may ascend to safer, healthier and relatively socially powerful positions in construction yards or waste plants, but the Artisan born of the same qualification will get positions at Imperial palaces and places of highest prestige. Only the most gifted Artisans are given work to design ships and Saurian architecture and are held in highest regard in all Saurian society. It is their attention to detail and beauty in all aspects of Saurian life that is the crowning achievement of this Order and is respected by all castes.
The Workers Caste
Probably the least desirable and most difficult to change is the Worker caste. This caste is the most widely under estimated and underrepresented order of all. This order comprises approximately sixty percent of the entire Saurian Race yet they don’t hold quite as powerful sway on internal policy as either the cast.
Most labor is slow and tedious progress, as individuals in this caste take on the thankless burden of executing progress in Saurian engineering, medicine and education. The Workers cast contains some the most reliable and skilled builders of all in Saurian society. Although most casts tend to be self sufficient in most matters no Order would even consider a massive building project without a contract with a reputable builders guild form the Workers cast.
The Order of Scientists
The newest and most controversial of the cast is the Order of Scientist an order dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The Religious Order presides over law, but a member from the Order of Science would be the investigators and detectives. The Scientist cast consists of all forms of science but primary recognized forms of this Order are in medicine, biology, engineering, and education.
Intelligence reports of linguistic data show this caste has sometimes been referred to by members of other castes as The Radical Caste. It is not unheard of for Saurians in this cast to be subverters of tradition with more radical ideas of equality and unity among all life forms and the reformation of law, an alien concept to the Saurians. If you are even known to be associated with heretics of tradition the Saurian consider those as outcast. One family name that is synonymous with the radical cast is a sub race called Genurans. Though not a ruling race, many Genurans have often played a role in Saurian history as visionaries, introducing new ideas and paradigms of thinking that changed Saurian Society. Eventually these ideas were practiced as a whole and new technologies were developed even though this order has only been a legitimate caste for the past four decades.
Prior to special dispensation from a young Emperor Sad’heen the Third, the Order of Science was only a subclass. Although now a recognized and represented party, the Order of Science is considered to be second class. It is even rumored that there is a more sinister reason for the creation of this small but growing cast.
The Tonlanus Clan of Warriors
Tonlanus Clan is the oldest, largest and most politically powerful caste in Saurian society.
The figurehead and patriarch of this clan is Tonlan, a highly-decorated Saurian General and commanding officer of the PLECANTH, the Imperial Saurian Capitol Ship. Tonlon is an accomplished tactician and served closely with the late Emperor Sha'tene. Many promiment Saurian military officials can trace their lineage to the Clan of Tonlanus.
Althoug the Saurian navy has encountered warp-capable societies (see Genura III) it has not perfected the matter/antimatter engine. Their vessels harness fusion from small neutron stars as the engines of their interstellar fleet. This presents an unusual problem for starship captains when applying certain command and communication decisions, as the Federation Prime Directive prohibits contact with pre-warp cultures and the sharing of technology and cultural interchange. Starfleet is uncertain as to the scope and power of the fleet's deployment capabilities. Although their terraforming campaign through the sector has been highly expansive it was met with moderate success.
The space-faring Cityships ferry regiments of Paladins throughout the Avalon sector.
Paladin armament and troop structure share many traditions in common with ancient Earth medieval warriors, royal cavalries and a quasi-militaristic structure of the modern Starfleet Marine Core. Apparently, members of the Saurian military are beholden to the Emperor and the politico-religious order that gives the monarchy the power to govern Sauria.
Each Paladin carries a small shield emitter [2] and has fashioned a hand-held radiation emitter that functions as a energy blade. Saurian weapons technology is highly effective in close combat, and the radiation emitter can disrupt duranium, cauterize wounds and even deflect phased-based energy. By simultaneously emitting and attracting high velocity radiation particles toward the emitter [3], a focused beam of energy is harnessed in a melee weapon that has demonstrated an ability to effect strong casualty rates.[4]
Although the progression of the weapon in Saurian history may be analogous to Ancient Earth's escalation from projectile weaponry to disruptor and phased-energy weapons, there is no known Saurian blade and little is known about their pre-history.
The Drammus
The Drammus is a subgroup of the Radical caste population inclusive of Saurians and Genurans and might be considered to be heterogenous order of castes, blurring the social and behavorial divisions typically drawn in Saurian society between individuals practicing medicine, art, engineering, labor and science. Historians believe that, in an act of as foresight, the Emperor Sha'tene legimated the Drammus only several weeks before his assassination on Borlin VI.
Many Drammus serve aboard modified Saurian Cityships as reconnaissance officers. They appear to work closely with Genuran colonists and refugees not under Federation asylum.
Dorin is a popular leader among the Genuran people and a survivor of the Genuran Holocaust. He a highly-connected figure in the Drammus and has worked closely with the Saurian dynasty as well as as an envoy of Genuran interests.
Starfleet Intelligence briefings indicate that although Dorin is a close relative of the Saurian war criminal Zeun, his record of cooperation with the Federation, through brief, is outstanding.
The Genurans
Many Genurans are refugees under Federation protection who have either left Sauria or claim persecution by the majority Saurian politico-religious structure.
Starfleet Medical research indicates that all known surviving Genurans belong to a minority population that is less than 2% of the known Saurian population. 100% of self-identified Genurans who have voluntarily sent DNA to Starfleet medical possess a DNA sequence that is only 99.6% similar to Saurian DNA.
First contact with Genurans was initiated by USS Discovery under command of Captain Tyr Waltas.
Genura III
Once a trinary system, with three class J gas giants, 1 proto-planet and one M-class inhabited planet, Genura III, is now the site of a massive singularity. Before the collapse of Genura C, a neutron star, the system was home to a non-Federation colony population numbering over 8,000 sentient beings not subject to the Prime Directive.
During it's state as a trinary star system, the system and it's planets were subject to extreme terraforming, gravitational and temporal engineering, allowing Genura III to develop into a M-Class planet in comparatively recent cosmological time. Genura III's elliptical orbit subjected it to massive gravitational stresses when it passed between its parent stars, however, it's orbital integrity was engineered by Genuran temporal scientists whose work was co-opted by a religious group within the Genuran colony.
Starfleet Intelligence speculated the Genuran homeworld colony is deep in Avalon sector, possibly Sauria Prime. Disregarding this possibility, it was unclear until recently how or why Genura III's colonists so quickly evolved interstellar warp-flight and subspace communications, within such dangerous gravitational wells.
Figure: Orbital Trajectories of Genura A,B,C; I - V, co-existing with engineered gravimetric anomalies.
Zeun & The Genuran Holocaust
Zeun is a known galactic war criminal and responsible for the destruction of the Genuran C neutron star, which displaced 8,000 Genurans and escalated the conditions of the Genuran refugee crisis.
On stardate 238508.03, Starfleet Command received a distress call from the Genura System and sent USS Discovery, under command of Captain Tyr Waltas. Upon arrival at Genura III, it was discovered that 3/4 of the Genuran population were seeking asylum and unable to evacuate all 8,000 before the collapse of their neutron star. However, within that time and the time Discovery could establish planetary orbit, severe temporal engineering reversed the figures and the religious minority was now the majority.
Upon arrival to the surface, the Discovery away teams encountered two groups, one of which was a politico-religious majority calling itself the Genuran Traditional Order led by a charismatic but insane leader calling himself Zeun. Although this group no longer desired to evacuate Genura III, a smaller secular separatist group, known as the Free People of Genura, led by Dorin, a former government official, assembled indisputable data proving the imminent nova of the Genura C neutron star and sent the distress call under great risk. Discovery crew were responsible for bringing information about the Genuran supernova into the Genuran public sphere.
It is speculated that temporal engineering riddled Genura's solar system nearly impenetrable with dangerous gravitational anomalies and also accelerated the passage of time, allowing the religious minority to achieve power in the relative time between the reception of a distress message and the arrival of Federation assistance. Although the Zeun was found responsible for attempting temporal engineering, endangering a solar system by altering the state of the neutron star and attempted genocide, he escaped arrest by either the Discovery or the flagship of the Genuran New Order, the Vetica.
Aided by USS Discovery, whose crew exposed the scientific proof of Genura's doom, most Genurans escaped from the system. Many of them were separatists and traditionalists.
Mission Logs [5] USS Discovery [6] Convex [7] Separatists [8]
Aurix
Aurix is a single star system. Aurix II is a desert planet and a former Federation research colony. On stardate 23850704.24 Admiral Joh'qui sent USS Discovery-B to Aurix II after it ceased subspace communication. Aurix II's fate was apparently within the scope of involvement of the Q.
Mission Logs
[9]