Planetary Overview: New Doncaster
The setting for the first of Prince Roland’s stories. What do you think?
New Doncaster
The settlement rights to the New Doncaster System remained in a curious legal limbo until roughly 500PEF, as the system was claimed by the remnants of a political faction that was steadily losing its remaining influence in the Grand Senate. This did not, of course, stop rogue factions from settling the planet before the official colonists arrived, causing all sorts of minor problems as the newcomers asserted their claim to the planet. There was a brief series of engagements that ended when the Imperial Navy bombarded the illegal settlements, the survivors forcibly integrated into the new power structure. Tales of hidden settlements and rogue sailors abound, but few believe them.
Officially, New Doncaster – generally shortened to Doncaster – is a representative democracy, with a parliament composed of elected MPs. Practically, voting rights are highly restricted and based largely – almost completely – on land ownership. The original investors – the Landowners – own roughly 70% of the planet’s land surface (as well as the moons, asteroid belts and gas giants) and generally run the planet to suit themselves. They have endless privileges, written into the constitution by the first legal settlers; the majority of government jobs are reserved for them. Naturally, the parliament is little more than a rubber stamp. Decisions are taken in private, by the dominant landowners, and then effortlessly passed through parliament. The handful of MPs from townie factions are unable to do anything about it.
This is bitterly resented by two of the four other factions: the townies (who form a growing business/middle class) and the debtors (who are effectively serfs, working to pay off impossible debts). The economic slowdown that ended with Earthfall has hit the planet hard, ensuring that the debts are even more unserviceable. The townies want more say in planetary affairs – in effect, an end to the landholding scheme – and are prepared to agitate to get it; the debtors want an end to debt and a more fair sharing of planetary resources. The more perceptive landowners realise that they’ll have to make some concessions, sooner or later, but they’re blocked by their fellows, who feel that any concessions will come back to bite them.
The remaining two factions – the sailors and the spacers – try to have as little to do with the other factions as possible. However, that may not be able to endure indefinitely.
There is a surprising amount of ethnic diversity amongst the population, but the planet is resolutely monocultural. The price of settlement – as a townie or a debtor – was abandoning one’s former culture, if it was believed to be incompatible. Racism is thankfully rare – classism is considerably more prevalent – and it isn’t unknown for a particularly competent debtor or townie to climb the ladders. However, this is uncommon. There are very few slots for newcomers, no matter how talented they may be.
The planet’s military is more of a glorified police force. The landowners disliked the idea of a standing army – particularly one drawn largely from the lower classes – and kept it as low as possible. They preferred the idea of a volunteer force drawn from the higher classes, who were the only ones who were allowed to bear arms. Accordingly, the army consists of little more than 10’000 infantry, with a handful of supporting aircraft and boats, backed up by volunteer posses whenever things get too far out of hand. Logistics are minimal. Training is very much a mixed bag, as officers are exclusively drawn from the landowners. Some are strikingly competent, some are practically useless.
New Doncaster is unusual amongst planets, in that it has a relatively small settlement zone running around the equator. The planetary surface is an archipelago of islands, some of which are very large indeed (think Cuba or Ireland); the waters, stocked with fish from Earth, provide more than enough sustenance for the system’s inhabitants. (This is partly why the sailors think they can remain aloof from the power struggle, as they can feed themselves and maintain their sailing ships without much from the main islands.) A number of islands play host to factories, farms and plantations; a cluster of mid-sized islands represent the capital of the planetary system.
The planet is orbited by a small halo of asteroid settlements and industrial nodes, with varying levels of ties to the planetary government. Some are owned directly by the landowners, some owe formal fealty to the government but pay as little attention to it as possible. Smuggling is big business. Doncaster’s government will never admit it, but the planet sells a considerable amount of advanced technology on the black market. There is a formal planetary defence network, but no one is really sure how capable it is. The handful of outdated gunboats patrolling the system are completely inadequate for the task.
Outside the high orbitals, there are small settlements on the rocky worlds, cloudscoops orbiting the gas giants (both owned by the landowners) and an ever-increasing union of settled asteroids (some independent).
The planet’s major exports are food, rare chemicals (harvested from the plantations) and a small – but growing – trade in advanced technology and starship components.
Unsurprisingly, Doncaster has been heading steadily towards disaster. Earthfall has ensured that the planetary government can no longer call on the Imperial Navy for help. Worse, the steady economic collapse across the sector has brought pirates, (more) smugglers and independence activists to Doncaster. The Secessionist League, in particular, has been trying to supply the debtors – and some of the townies – with advanced weapons, hoping the rebels can take the planetary surface and industrial nodes. The government has reacted poorly, as it remains unwilling to make any substantial concessions to either the townies or the debtors. Instead, it has tried to crack down – unsuccessfully – on subversion. It’s heavy-handed tactics have only made things worse, ensuring more resentment and more recruits for the rebel factions.
It is only a matter of time until the planet explodes.
