Uthith
Uthith
GM Purpose
Uthith is Mittensby's homeworld and the capital of the 40th Squadron.
The visit should accomplish several things quickly:
- Establish that Mittensby comes from a genuinely powerful family.
- Make the 40th Squadron feel like a real polity rather than simply "some Vargr fleet."
- Introduce the Gvegh household and family succession tensions.
- Allow the Marmaduke to meet and assess the Warbler crew.
- Give Mittensby an offer of a substantially better ship.
- Establish the mission involving Dravik Elpharc, Kworf, and Debarre.
- Give the players a sense that Mittensby's apparently chaotic travels have actually enhanced her family's opinion of her.
The homecoming should be enjoyable before it becomes political.
---
System Overview
Uthith, also known as Tsaengngo, is the capital and naval headquarters of the 40th Squadron, locally called the Ekhlle Ksafi.
The system orbits a solitary M0 V red dwarf and contains:
- 14 worlds total.
- 3 gas giants.
- 2 planetoid belts.
- A major naval base.
- Extensive orbital shipyards.
The mainworld has a population of approximately 600 million, overwhelmingly Gvegh Vargr.
Uthith itself is:
- Small.
- Low gravity, approximately 0.29G.
- Almost airless.
- Completely dry.
- Highly urbanized.
- TL-14.
- Dependent upon imported food and extensive water recycling.
Almost nobody lives outdoors.
Civilization exists in sealed cities, buried complexes, pressurized valleys, orbital habitats and immense enclosed industrial districts.
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Arrival in the Uthith System
The most immediate impression is traffic.
Uthith may orbit a dim red star, but the system itself is ablaze with artificial light.
The Warbler detects:
- Naval squadrons.
- Merchant traffic.
- Tankers.
- Couriers.
- Construction craft.
- High-speed personnel shuttles.
- Small corsairs.
- Large numbers of 100–1,000 ton military hulls.
- Orbital shipyards surrounding partially completed vessels.
Unlike Imperial traffic control, communications are busy, informal and unmistakably Vargr.
Captains argue.
Controllers joke.
Ships exchange greetings.
Military vessels announce themselves with elaborate squadron identifiers.
There is hierarchy, but it is loudly social rather than bureaucratically quiet.
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First Important Sensor Impression
The 40th Squadron is much larger and better equipped than the Warbler crew may have expected.
Many vessels appear to be TL-13 or TL-14.
A large fraction are Jump-3 capable.
The most common military vessel is a roughly 400-ton corsair-style craft.
Several ships clearly began life in somebody else's navy.
Others carry designs unfamiliar in Imperial space.
A successful Naval or Engineering assessment quickly concludes:
This fleet could not possibly have been built entirely by Uthith.
---
The Rumored Flagship
Among the orbital contacts is an enormous vessel whose transponder information is deliberately incomplete.
Rumor identifies it as the captured Imperial battleship that serves as the Squadron flagship.
Displacement is approximately 200,000 tons.
Whether the vessel is operational, partially operational, or primarily a prestige object is not immediately apparent.
The Marmaduke does not volunteer this information.
---
Traffic Control
Once the Warbler identifies itself, normal approach procedures abruptly change.
There is a short delay.
Then:
"Warbler, Uthith Control."
"Your arrival has been noted."
"Maintain present vector."
"House Gvegh traffic will meet you."
Within minutes, a military launch or fast cutter departs one of the naval facilities.
The crew quickly discovers that Mittensby does not simply "have family here."
Her family has traffic privileges.
---
Homecoming
The greeting party should be larger than Mittensby expects.
Possible attendees:
- Perrin Gvegh
- Several household retainers.
- A representative of the Marmaduke.
- Old servants who remember Mittensby as a child.
- Two or three junior naval officers who immediately recognize her.
- Local media, if the Marmaduke has not explicitly prevented them from attending.
Mittensby is greeted by her full name and title.
Members of the Warbler crew are treated respectfully because they are identified as Mittensby's crew.
This distinction matters.
---
The Capital City
The main capital is Ksafi Reach.
It is a vast sealed metropolitan complex partly buried beneath a broad basalt plain near one of Uthith's largest naval installations.
Population: several million.
Ksafi Reach consists of:
- Enormous pressurized concourses.
- Multi-level urban districts.
- Subsurface residential sectors.
- Government halls.
- Naval headquarters.
- Shipbuilding offices.
- Foreign diplomatic compounds.
- Commercial arcades.
- Entertainment districts.
- Gardens maintained under immense transparent pressure roofs.
The ceiling of the oldest central district displays an artificial daylight cycle.
During "night", the panels become transparent enough to reveal the dim red sun and stars.
---
Architectural Character
Vargr architecture is competitive.
Buildings frequently attempt to outdo neighboring buildings.
Common features include:
- Bright colors.
- Large family emblems.
- Illuminated hull plaques.
- Sculptures.
- Naval trophies.
- Captured weapons.
- Highly individual architecture.
The city does not look planned despite being almost entirely artificial.
Each generation has added another layer.
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40th Squadron Headquarters
The political and military center of the polity is Squadron Hall.
It is part headquarters, part palace, part naval museum.
The oldest sections incorporate structures dating back to the founding of the 40th Squadron.
Prominent features include:
- The original Squadron insignia.
- Names of ships lost in the Frontier Wars.
- Captured Imperial and Zhodani hardware.
- Portraits and holograms of famous First Officers.
- Conference chambers where ship captains vote and argue.
- Secure fleet operations facilities.
- Offices for foreign representatives.
The building intentionally preserves a naval atmosphere.
Even senior civilian officials sometimes refer to floors as "decks."
---
House Gvegh Holdings
Overview
House Gvegh does not occupy a traditional palace.
The family estate is called Long Watch.
It began centuries ago as a fortified naval command residence and has accumulated additions ever since.
The result is an enormous, slightly eccentric complex on the edge of Ksafi Reach.
It contains:
- Family residence.
- Guest quarters.
- Offices.
- Gardens.
- Secure communications center.
- Private docking facilities.
- Small museum.
- Household staff quarters.
- Security barracks.
- Workshops.
- Underground shelters.
The Marmaduke can conduct state business without leaving the property.
---
Long Watch
Long Watch sits against the inner wall of a huge pressurized cavern complex overlooking the artificial gardens of the Rrasha Basin.
The original structure is dark basalt.
Later additions include glass, ceramics, metal and brightly colored Vargr ornamentation.
From the main receiving rooms, enormous windows overlook the basin.
Beyond the pressure shell lies the naked landscape of Uthith.
During the artificial evening, external floodlights illuminate the distant mountains.
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The Rrasha Basin
The gardens below the estate were renamed after Mittensby's mother following her death.
They are among the most expensive private gardens on Uthith.
Real trees grow here.
There is open water.
Birds and small imported animals live beneath the pressure dome.
This is where Mittensby spent much of her childhood.
The basin includes:
- Walking paths.
- A small artificial stream.
- Several groves.
- Riding areas.
- Outdoor dining terraces.
- Children's play structures that have mostly been preserved.
- A memorial garden dedicated to Lady Rrasha.
For somebody raised on an airless world, genuine open water is an extravagant display of wealth.
---
Mittensby's Childhood Rooms
Her rooms still exist.
They have been cleaned and maintained but not turned into a shrine.
Some embarrassing possessions remain.
Possible details:
- Childhood trophies.
- Clothes.
- Bad artwork.
- Early Dakarr experiments.
- Photographs with Perrin.
- A ceremonial dagger she refused to practice with.
- An old stuffed toy.
- Evidence that Garrick used to leave mocking notes outside her door.
Auntie Vevva has prevented anyone from redecorating.
---
The Family Dining Room
Despite the size of the household, family meals occur in a relatively small room overlooking the gardens.
The Marmaduke dislikes ceremonial dining when only family is present.
This is a good location for:
- Family arguments.
- Childhood stories.
- Garrick/Mittensby friction.
- Perrin jokes.
- Vevva interfering.
- The Marmaduke revealing the proposed mission.
---
The Marmaduke's Office
Unexpectedly small.
The walls contain:
- Fleet maps.
- Ship plaques.
- Gifts from foreign governments.
- Oberlindes memorabilia.
- Zhodani objects whose significance is unclear.
- A few photographs of Lady Rrasha and the children.
There is no throne.
The most prominent piece of furniture is a battered conference table.
The Marmaduke conducts serious conversations here.
---
Private Dock
Long Watch possesses its own secure docking connection to a subterranean grav-transit tube leading directly to the naval field.
Smallcraft can land at the estate.
Larger ships use the nearby military facilities.
This allows visiting captains and foreign representatives to enter without using public terminals.
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The Gvegh Household
The Marmaduke Gvegh Vargr / Ekhlle Ksafi
Mittensby's father.
First Officer of the 40th Squadron.
A powerful military and political leader with deep relationships involving:
- Oberlindes.
- The Zhodani.
- Vargr states.
- Meamone intermediaries.
- Imperial authorities.
He is genuinely pleased to see Mittensby.
More surprisingly, he is impressed with her.
He should specifically praise the Warbler and her crew.
"You've done well."
"I gave you considerable freedom because I assumed you would mostly squander it."
"You appear instead to have acquired a ship, a crew, several businesses, diplomatic contacts, enemies, and a reputation."
"Your mother would be delighted."
---
Lady Rrasha Gvegh
Mittensby's mother.
Dead approximately twelve to fifteen years.
Rrasha was charismatic, socially gifted and widely loved.
She was killed in a bombing carried out in retaliation for one of the Marmaduke's operations.
The organization responsible was subsequently destroyed by the Marmaduke.
Her death continues to shape the family.
---
Garrick Gvegh
Older brother.
Presumptive heir.
Competent, disciplined and poorly liked.
He believes Mittensby is fundamentally frivolous.
Unfortunately for Garrick, Mittensby repeatedly succeeds at things he considers ridiculous.
Guiding Principle:
"Government is not entertainment."
---
Perrin Gvegh
The popular brother.
Charming, courageous and genuinely kind.
Also unreliable and frequently incompetent.
Squadron crews adore him.
Mittensby probably likes him.
Guiding Principle:
"If everybody leaves happy, how badly could we have screwed it up?"
---
Auntie Vevva
Elderly former companion of Lady Rrasha who helped raise Mittensby.
Tiny by Vargr standards.
Perfectly groomed.
Completely fearless.
One of the few individuals who routinely criticizes the Marmaduke to his face.
Vevva's primary concern is the future of House Gvegh.
She has developed strong opinions regarding Kworf and the Kuai Qing Vargr.
---
Household Personnel
Hesk Brindle
Chief steward.
Older male Vargr.
Has worked for the family for forty years.
Knows absolutely everything.
Treats Mittensby as though she left last week.
---
Talla Three-Rings
Head cook.
Large female Vargr.
Remembers every food Mittensby disliked as a child.
Immediately attempts to feed the entire Warbler crew.
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Egrr Vend
House security chief.
Former marine.
Missing one ear.
Profoundly suspicious of Sven.
Eventually likes him.
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Pellin Voss
Young household aide.
Approximately twenty.
Considers Mittensby legendary.
Has heard completely distorted stories about her adventures.
---
Old Rusk
Estate gardener.
No relation to Albin Rusk.
Human.
Has maintained the Rrasha Basin for decades.
Mittensby remembers him as ancient even when she was a child.
He is somehow still alive.
---
The New Ship
The Marmaduke has a surplus military vessel available.
This should be noticeably superior to the Warbler without being a capital ship.
Suggested characteristics:
- 400–600 tons.
- Jump-3 or better.
- Excellent maneuver drive.
- Military sensors.
- Armored hull.
- Several weapon hardpoints.
- Good passenger accommodations.
- Cargo capacity sufficient for adventuring.
- Originally built for Squadron service.
- Old enough that giving it away is plausible.
- Maintained to an extremely high standard.
The ship is sitting in the naval yard when Mittensby arrives.
The Marmaduke may deliberately arrange for her to see it before explaining why.
He says:
"That one is surplus."
"You may have it."
Pause.
"If you earn it."
The mission is to locate Dravik Elpharc and bring him to Uthith, preferably voluntarily.
The strongest lead begins on Debarre with Kworf.
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Local Political Atmosphere
The 40th Squadron is not a conventional monarchy.
Individual worlds retain their own governments.
The Squadron's naval officer corps is the true unifying authority.
Power depends heavily upon:
- Rank.
- Reputation.
- Personal loyalty.
- Charisma.
- Naval service.
- Family alliances.
This makes succession inherently uncertain.
The Marmaduke's children therefore matter politically even if no formal law guarantees that one of them will inherit his authority.
Garrick is the obvious successor.
That does not mean the Squadron will follow him.
---
Foreign Presence
Uthith contains unusually large foreign missions for a Vargr polity of its size.
Notable interests include:
Zhodani
Military advisers.
Intelligence personnel.
Technical specialists.
The relationship is old and complicated.
Oberlindes
Major trade representatives.
Ship brokers.
Cargo agents.
Oberlindes vessels are common.
The company enjoys unusually good access to Squadron markets.
Imperial Interests
Small but significant diplomatic and commercial presence.
Imperial officials treat Uthith cautiously.
Meamone
No obvious official headquarters.
Meamone influence occurs through:
- Investment.
- Consultants.
- Technology agreements.
- Cutouts.
- Third-party corporations.
The Marmaduke knows considerably more about this relationship than he admits.
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Places the Crew Might Visit
The Old Crew
An officers' club and famous drinking establishment near Squadron Hall.
Walls are covered with photographs of former crews.
Every table has a story.
Excellent place for rumors.
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Broken Fang Market
Huge indoor commercial district.
Vargr merchandise from dozens of worlds.
Excellent food.
Questionable electronics.
Surplus military equipment.
Dakarr may actually sell surprisingly well here.
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Rrasha Basin
Family gardens.
Best location for private conversations with Mittensby.
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Squadron Museum
Contains artifacts from centuries of 40th Squadron history.
Includes captured Imperial equipment.
Potentially embarrassing exhibits concerning attacks on Imperial worlds.
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The crew can inspect the ship being offered to Mittensby.
Maddux may disappear here for hours.
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Immediate Uthith Scenes
If the players reach Uthith tonight, use these in order as needed.
Scene 1: Recognition
Traffic control realizes who Mittensby is.
Escort arrives.
The crew understands her status.
Scene 2: Long Watch
Homecoming.
Old servants.
Childhood memories.
Perrin.
Vevva.
Possibly Garrick.
Scene 3: Dinner
Family teasing.
Questions about the Warbler crew.
The Marmaduke listens more than he talks.
Scene 4: Private Conversation
The Marmaduke praises Mittensby.
Discusses the 40th Squadron.
Shows her the new ship.
Makes the offer.
Scene 5: Vevva
Afterward, Vevva privately begins discussing Kworf.
This should initially sound like ordinary family gossip.
Only gradually does Mittensby realize exactly what Vevva is suggesting.
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Current Campaign Direction
Feri
Artifact laundering disrupted.
↓
Beck's World
Giles Mercy and the source end of the artifact trade.
↓
Uthith
Family reunion.
Marmaduke's offer.
↓
Debarre
Kworf and Yelanni.
Search for clues regarding Dravik.
↓
Dravik
Location currently unknown.
The crew may ultimately decide that the Marmaduke's plans for him are wise, dangerous, unnecessary, or completely wrong.
Return to GM:Warbler Game