Ashtari Cloud | The Golden Triangle

gas giant around which Lazuna, Javon and Serambi orbit and the many many moons of Nusantara

hosts the Maelstrom a gigantic super storm cell

Mystics of the Ashtari Cloud, these seers peer into the future through sacred rituals and ancient technology. Guided by visions and the ethereal whispers of the Maelstrom, they walk the path between the known and the unknown, deciphering omens and prophecies.

Ideas Pile

large kilometer sized organo-gel balllon seeded with biosphere. people live inside.

north sea rig stations

Gas-harvest rigs dangling like chandeliers in the upper atmosphere, each with its own flag and baron.

Feral refinery blimps drifting like ghost whales, crewed by scavengers who pray to their dumb AIs.

Auroras shimmering below, only visible through temple-like stained pressure glass.

neon-lit souks inside half-pressurized canvas tunnels

Clouds so dense they feel like fog at the window—vistas of green-gold turbulence.

Goods

Helium-3 cannisters (energy fuel).
Deuterium-harvest cylinders (starship fuel).
Thermion Vapor (volatile, pressurized, unstable).
Sacred gas vials curated by the Ashtari Cult.
Catalyst cores cut from feral blimps.
Salvaged hull plating (TL3/4 alloys).
Sky amber (resin harvested from bioengineered leviathans).
Lumiphores (photonic dyes condensed from magnetovores).
Storm-ice bricks, condensed water laden with exotic isotopes.
Pirate bullion chests (stamped coins, fenceable contraband).

Places

Blue Ribbon Corridor: the most valuable jet-stream lease line, claimed by rival barons.
Storm Cloisters: massive translucent domes stretched across pressure bands, glowing like cathedrals in the clouds.
Amber Fields: drifting mats of biotech organisms, farmed like whales for their resin.
The Try-Works: refinery decks where harvested organics are boiled down, smelling of brine and ozone
Chandelier Hab: an opulent corporate rig, dangling from a tether and glittering with lights.
The Maelstrom Gate: a corsair-controlled docking ring used for smuggling and ambushes.

People

¹Raden Sita Veyra (calculating, perfumed, predatory): a corporate-bred baroness leasing jet-stream rights as if they were stocks.
Captain Vey Kurash (sardonic, loyal, embittered): ex-Nusantaran Navy, now running escort jobs for Sita Veyra, who he despises.
Halim “Stormtongue” (scarred, fervent, unwashed): an Ashtari Cult seer who sells visions from bottled gases.
Nara the Small (nervous, twitchy, meticulous): smuggler of sacred gas vials who insists on elaborate rituals before each run.
Cutter Jano (greasy, grinning, opportunistic): a salvage captain who specializes in feral blimps.
Magda Kho (hard-bitten, one-eyed, chain-smoking): union organizer at Clinker Pier who straddles the line between syndicate and workers.
“Ironhand” Gopal (hulking, jovial, dangerous): mercenary captain who accepts tax rights as payment, not coin.
Queen Irawan the Banshee (tattooed, ruthless, charismatic): pirate matriarch holding court at the Maelstrom Gate.
Professor Etienne Miro (aloof, absent-minded, brilliant): dual monarchy xenobiologist obsessed with the Amber Fields.
Lian Yue (poised, silk-clad, knife-smile): fence at the who trades in docking rights and stolen ledgers.

Jobs

Day labor: haul storm-ice bricks (100 credits).
Deckhand: tether outside a blimp to cut catalyst cores (200 credits hazard pay).
Guard duty: protect a baron’s storm pier from raiders (300 credits).
Smuggle sacred gas vials past a corporate checkpoint (500 credits).
Break a strike at Clinker Pier (800 credits).
Hunt and tow a feral refinery blimp (2,000 credits).
Escort a Corsair prize ship through contested airspace (3,000 credits).
Sabotage a rival baron’s tether rig (4,000 credits).
Secure rights over a jet-stream corridor in a skirmish (6,000 credits).
Harpoon a sky-leviathan and deliver its amber to Eye Harbor (10,000 credits).

#	Mission	What’s the job (clear win/lose, constraints)	Employer	Pay / Rights
0	Hold the Blue Ribbon	Seize and operate a toll checkpoint on the Blue Ribbon jet-stream for 72 hours. No transponders. Pirate traffic must be “discouraged” without starting a shooting war.	Baron Sita Veyra	25kcr + 2-yr toll rights on one node (1d4×50kcr/yr)
1	The Baron’s Quiet War	Disable rival tether mounts so “weather” collapses them later. No explosives, no bodies, no cameras.	Baron Sita Veyra	40kcr + sealed non-involvement writ
2	Colors in the Cloud	Fly a “training escort” into a Cathayan patrol lane; hold formation and blanks-fire until they shoot first. Win by recording provocation without losing a hull.	Caliphal Prefecture	30kcr + amnesty on past prize claims
3	Out-Grant: Anchor the Bay	Clear Corsair from a lee-bay and keep it open for 15 days. Payment is dock tithe; idle >7 days voids the grant.	Storm-Baron Compact	5-yr dockage tithe (1d6×100kcr/yr)
4	House Audit	Confiscate counterfeit HoVA parts in the Corsair market with minimal fuss.	House of Vital Artifice	22kcr + HoVA parts whitelist
5	Try-Works Firewatch	Guard refinery decks during an amber boil. No stray rounds near pressure kettles; repel a timed raid.	HoVA Subcontractor	8kcr (incl. hazard) + med-stims
6	The Vision Tax	Hit a corporate pier, seize impounded Cult gear, no civilian casualties, extract before riot police arrive.	Hesper Lineage (Ashtari Cult)	14kcr + 2 augury sessions (actionable intel)
7	Tally the Tithes	Audit three toll booths; catch stewards skimming and recover ledgers without bloodshed.	Storm-Baron Compact	12kcr + 20% of recovered skims (avg. 5–25kcr)
8	Claim by Right of Lance	Clear squatters from a Storm Cloister block and hold it one week. No structural damage.	Minor Baronial Council	5-yr hab & market lease (~150kcr/yr)
9	Ransom in a Calm Eye	Recover a kidnapped Cult augur from a Corsair bay. Zero harm to quarry, zero spilled Cult relics.	Ashtari Consistory	26kcr + “Pilots’ Blessing” (advantage vs. storm checks for one season)

Ashtari Cult

A Cult of Precursor worshipers claiming Ur descent. They carry vials of gases from the Ashtari Cloud, which they inhale to connect to their presumed ancestors.

Hesper Lineage is one sect of the Cult, mystic-navigators

honorific indicating lord ↩