Tortuga

Orpheus Gaze    Terran Worlds      Tortuga

Tortuga was a Terran world, initially colonized in the 23rd century and for hundreds of years home to a considerable pirate enclave. It became a part of the "Valane Crown" in the 25th century.

Overview

Tortuga is the fourth planet in the star system Gamma Oriphae found within the ‘Badlands’ area. Tortuga is part of the ‘Valane Crown’ and acts as the gateway into the ‘Badlands’. It is a thriving hub for mining and trade on the Southern Frontier.

Climate and Colonisation

Tortuga is a dry planet covered in savanna-like terrain, broken apart by the two major oceans - Odia and Udramaha, and the inland rivers that feed them. Odia is the larger body of water and stretches over much of the Northern Hemisphere. Tortuga has a warm climate with average year-round temperatures of 25 degrees C. The planet is considered to be a ‘mid-sized’ world as it is around 75% the mass of Earth. Tortuga has two moons named Ivanar and Imohina.
Tortuga had no naturally occurring life when the first settlers arrived but has become home to hardy imported plants including trees, bushes, and cacti. It is also home to cattle, sheep, and other domesticated animals, as well as some wild dogs that are the descendants of domestic dogs. It is thought by archaeologists that Tortuga did once support life but after a particularly deadly asteroid hit the planet it was knocked out of its natural orbit meaning it could no longer support its previous natural ecosystem.
In the Southern Hemisphere there are long stretches of sharp mountain ranges that are thought to be made of long dormant volcanoes. The mountains of the Northern Hemisphere are smaller but no less visually impressive, especially those rising from the ocean. The planet has numerous islands and most are uninhabited except for a collection of islands in the Odia Ocean known as The Lokloars which is currently home to nearly 500,000 people.
A combination of the dry savanna, the expansive ocean, and the rocky terrain of the mountains means that the people of Tortuga have tended to live in smaller communities than other worlds in Terran Space. Most Tortugans live in towns or small cities.
The capital of Tortuga is Bravo City, located to the South of the equator. As of 2600 the city is home to around 14.5 million people.

Badlands Pirates

The first settlers of Tortuga were wildcat miners trying to make their fortunes on the harsh frontier. They are thought to have arrived around the mid 2200s during the late Federation era. The original population was only a couple of thousand people but it grew steadily.
After the collapse of the Confederate Union the planet fell afoul of a pirate conclave. It is no longer known which faction of pirates forcibly took control of Tortuga but it is thought that their takeover was swift, landing and destroying the militia forces quickly before seizing control of Bravo City, the downport, and the nearby refinery. The miners had a choice - pay a percentage of their hauls to the pirate lord or forfeit their lives. The pirate lords kept control of Tortuga for over two hundred and twenty five years.

House Valane

House Valane had been responsible for much of the changes to happen on Tortuga since the mid-2500s. The House have been the hereditary governors of Tortuga since 2585.

Occupation

In the mid-2540s a Tortugan pirate raid targeted the Federation world of Gaia, the pirates destroyed a Neo-Pagan temple and reportedly stole a number of significant artefacts. The Governor of Gaia called for an immediate response to this unprovoked attack.
The Arbiter of the Antares Federation Kallisto Valane arranged for a task force totalling ninety Federation, Imperial, and Martian ships to head into the Badlands. The task force was led by the Imperial battleship ‘Empress Regina’ and the Martian battleship ‘Andraste’.
The pirate force was outgunned and outclassed, a swift battle saw the pirate’s fleet of ten frigates and their orbital shipyard destroyed. The Federation side saw an equal loss of ten frigates.
With the area of space around the planet deemed secure the marines were deployed to the surface. An initial force of 250,000 soldiers, later reinforced by another 100,000, occupied the planet and overcame all landside resistance in less than two months of fighting. Around 10,000 marines were lost in the fighting.
Tortuga was declared to be under Federation control in early 2545. An interim government was put in place to monitor the planet.
When Mars left the Antares Federation in 2546 it also took over the occupation of Tortuga, expelling the Federation forces from the surface or folding them into the Martian forces. It was rumoured at the time that Mars would join the Terran Republic as long as promises were made to House Valane that the Republic would not interfere with Tortuga or the plans the House had for the world.
Units from the Martian Marine Corps served eighteen month tours at a time on Tortuga as part of their training. The different environments as well as the humanitarian aid efforts ensured that the marines deployed to Tortuga had a well-rounded education. The occupation formally ended in 2575 as the final Martian Marines ended their tours. After the conclusion of the occupation Marines continued to be rotated to the planet to train and for placements as it was felt it improved their level of training to be away from home.

Restoration

The Martian Marine Corps conducted a survey of Tortuga to assess its status after they had gained control of the planet. It was noted that there was very little infrastructure outside Bravo City and the infrastructure that was present was in very poor condition. There were limited medical facilities available and the ones that were operational were privately owned and extremely expensive to access. Most disturbing to the Martians was the education and literacy rate on Tortuga - nearly 50% of all children were illiterate and very few children finished their schooling instead often dropping out to work alongside their families.
The Marine Corp's report was delivered to Princess Kallisto and an investment plan was promptly drawn up. She made plans for a total of thirty-five billion dollars to be invested into the planet for the first phase of restoration and development focusing on eight key areas:

• Education Reform
• Healthcare Reform
• Infrastructure
• Government and Civil Service Facilities
• Policing
• Military and Defense
• Bravo City upgrades
• Township upgrades

It was reported that she felt very strongly that House Valane should pay for this project themselves to prove that they had not come to conquer the people of Tortuga but to lift them up to help them reach their potential. Twenty-nine billion dollars had been invested in the first fifty years of the development programme.
Initiatives were introduced alongside the investments and new laws were passed meaning that children had to remain in compulsory education until they were 18 years old. Free or heavily subsidised retraining programmes were offered for adults wanting to change or start careers, free adult education classes became common and were often at capacity, and there were recruitment drives with large bonuses for the Health, Security, and Military sectors. Surprisingly as the civil service began to grow it quickly became the most sought-after career path on the planet.
The Marines' role in the restoration process was to provide security to the planet and those who lived there, but many Marines took duties in building and maintaining field hospitals in the early days before Proteus-KP arrived to provide at-cost care. Marines often switched to providing and maintaining sanitation aid or physically assisting with the rebuilding of townships and communities.
Valtinists also devoted time and resources to aiding the restoration efforts, often providing charitable aid in the form of counsel, nutrition, and education at some of the newly set up communes.
Democracy was introduced to Tortuga in 2555 when the people were asked to vote for their first ever legislature. It was a very poor turnout with around 20% of the population coming to vote and the Marines needing to be deployed to prevent rioting. The interim government kept working on the message and accessibility and each voting period saw an increase in voting citizens.
In the years following the end of the occupation and as Tortuga became more stable the system attracted corporate attention. Corporations were only permitted to operate within the Badlands with the express permission of Princess Valane to safeguard the citizens of Tortuga from exploitative corporate practices. As mining corporations entered the system the demand for miners increased hugely and so did the number of people immigrating to Tortuga. Immigration seemingly began in 2575 and has increased year on year since then.

Haramirah

Princess Anastacia Valane gifted her eldest daughter Sofia Valane the hereditary governorship of Tortuga as a wedding gift in 2596. The title of Acting Governor was abandoned and replaced with the title of Haramirah (an Indirian word meaning ‘Great Commanding Queen’) to mark Sofia’s ascension in 2600.
The Haramirah is the Heir to Mars and will serve Tortuga until they are called to Mars. The new Princess of Mars then names her Heir as Haramirah of Tortuga.

Governors of Tortuga (Haramirah)

1. Princess Sofia Valane 2600-Present

Demographics

It has been historically very difficult to gather an accurate view into how many people live on Tortuga due to the general resistance to census exercises.
Tortuga was home to an estimated 22 million people at the beginning of the Occupation. As of 2600 the planet was home to 60 million people, largely due to its status as a mining hotspot.

• Terrans – 49,500,000
• Indirians – 10,500,000
• Other races – 75,000

Type

Planet

Owning Organization

Valane