Whythe

Name	Whythe
Affiliation	Almach Protectorate
Stellar Class	Red Giant
Orbiting Bodies	None
Colonized	2467
Government	Whythe Worker's Council
Distance from Sol	142ly

Whythe is a red giant that was home to a worker-run deutrium extraction plant before the Gray Hour. Its people are close-knit and insular. In 2562 the system became home to a large Almach Association construction known as the 'Whythe Superweapon', and was captured by the Skrell Far Kingdoms in 2564 who immediately began construction of Vigilance Station to host the Almach Protectorate Government. Shortly after the completion of Vigilance Station, the Skathari Incursion wiped out all construction and life in the system. It is currently considered uninhabitable.

Geography

Whythe has no planets and a marginal debris field, but a significant number of orbitting comets. Unusually for stars inhabited by humanity, it is a giant star, one that has cooled and balooned massively. Most such stars are subject to a large amount of tachyon flux; Wythe is not, for unknown reasons. This unusual property is believed to have contributed to the Association's decision to construct the Whythe Superweapon in the system.

Infrastructure

Before the Gray Hour, the only infrastructure of note was the small mining station of Whythe Alpha, with a spaceport capable of servicing only one small ship at a time. During the Almach War it was home to a dizzying array of Almachi freighters and construction ships, including a significant portion of Shelf; a presence that was soon replaced by the forces of the Far Kingdoms' occupation fleet. Today, skathari-infested wreckage is all that remains.

Population

Whythe's population once sat comfortably at 1018, roughly divided between humans and positronics. During the Almach War, this rose to over 10,000, not including the population of Shelf. Most new arrivals were construction workers and Militia forces, though exact numbers remain unknown. The work crews and Almachi forces left the system after the Treaty of Whythe, along with much of Whythe Alpha's original population. Most who remained in the system were collaborators or Skrellian military personnel, most of whom died during the Incursion. The system is now uninhabited save for the very occasional presence of solitary, incredibly risky, and dubiously-legal exploration ships in the system's outer reaches.

Industry and Economy

Whythe once subsisted on selling fuel to other groups in the Almach Rim, especially Shelf. This function was almost entirely supplanted by its strategic and symbolic role concerning the superweapon bearing its name following the Gray Hour. The system today is theorized to be the single richest Magmellite source in the known galaxy, though obvious factors render it inaccessible.

Government

Prior to Skrell occupation, Whythe was run by a Worker's Council, a direct democracy. Most Whythians were deeply involved in the minutiae of station politics, regardless of how petty it might seem to outsiders. It is unknown exactly how willing the close-knit commune was to host such a massive construction project, and how well the Worker's Council would be able to manage the influx of workers acompanying it was called into question. Vigilance Station was one of only a few institutions in the Almach Rim under direct rule by the Far Kingdoms subsequent to the Treaty of Whythe, and was organized as an extension of their governments. Currently, the system is technically outside of the territorial claims of any recognized government.

Notable Locations

Whythe Alpha

A "Tin can" habitat bought after Friedrich Whythe won the lottery and decided to escape from modern life. It was cramped, but outfit with all the things one might need to have a good life. Harvesters dangled into the photosphere of Whythe, refineries on the Whytheward side of the station stripped deutrium, and the reactor burned the less-valuable protium and oxygen to produce water that feeds farms further up. Whythe Alpha was de-orbited by the occupation government in a symbolic act shortly before the Incursion.

Whythe Superweapon

One of the most ambitious construction projects in recent memory orbits Whythe alongside Whythe Alpha. Its nature was initially unknown, but was eventually found to be a colossal weapon capable of long-distance bluespace interference and the destabilization of stars. The weapon was fired once, destroying the remote and unoccupied Phorcys system as a show of force. It was disabled, stripped of vital components, and effectively demilitarized by the Far Kingdoms prior to the first SolGov inspection of the Protectorate, though enough systems remained active to attract vast swarms of Skathari to the system. Information on its current state is unreliable and prone to rumor.

Vigilance Station

Construction began immediately post-occupation of a seat of government for the Almach Protectorate Government. Though far from complete, the station is due to act as both an assembly complex for the collaboration government, and a fleet base for occupying forces. The station was consumed almost immediately, along with much of the fleet stationed therein, during the initial moments of the Skathari Incursion.

History

2465: Friedrich Whythe, a Bowler and Xion-employed miner, wins a company lottery. He immediately quits his job.

2466: Whythe gathers various technical experts form throughout the Bowl and convinces them to start a new society with him.

2467: Whythe Alpha is towed into orbit around a distant star now called Whythe.

2538: Friedrich Whythe passes away, surrounded by friends and family.

Feb 2562: Whythe joins the Almach Association.

Nov 2562: Whythe Construction begins.

Jun 2563: Construction is reported as close to completion, and identified by SCG forces as an apparent superweapon.

Nov 2563: The Whythe Superweapon is used to open a bluespace portal in the remote Phorcys system, igniting its star.

April 2564: Solar forces launch a successful attack on the Whythe system. The Skrellian Far Kingdoms intervene, and the system falls under the new Almach Protectorate.

2566: Occupying forces, Whythe Alpha, and the remains of the Whythe Superweapon are wiped out in the opening days of the Skathari Incursion. The system is deemed too dangerous to resettle.