What’s up Cosmic Nomadics? Welcome back to The Halcyon Daze! For those of you who haven’t met me yet, I’m Deno Wynn, your guide to the wonders in our universe. I’m just finishing up spending some time on Brarcolyn, and it was a wild ride. If you don’t know those stories check them out! I’m still on Brarcolyn right now, but I’ve arranged transport to my next destination, the toxic wastes of Jargun-Ba.
Now, legally speaking, people aren’t allowed to go kicking around on Jargun-Ba without permission. The only approved landings on the planet are the mining crews sent down by the Black Palace to carve out and collect various precious elements and minerals. The main ones are Chaosium, Abyssalite, and Cyanochaos Vapor. These elements are rare, only being found on Jargun-Ba, and they are extremely valuable. We’re talking piles of units for a tiny bit of the stuff. Not only that, Cyanochaos Vapor is incredibly dangerous to be exposed to, unless you’re a Null. We’ll get to that in a minute.
Cyanochaos Vapor is a gas containing something that causes hallucinations, delusions, paranoia, aggression, and violent behavior. That’s not even the worst part. What’s even worse is that prolonged exposure to the gas will make your body mutate wildly. At that point, you become a cyanovore, a homicidal creature that craves flesh and is highly aggressive. Going to the planet to mine is dangerous because of the mutated animals and cyanovores on the planet. But, Nulls are immune to the effects of Cyanochaos Vapor. Let’s touch on that.
To be honest, I don’t know all the details on Nulls. All I know is that they’re people who aren’t affected by Cyanochaos Vapor (which I’m going to abbreviate to CV because the full thing is a mouthful). There’s a lot of speculation as to why CV doesn’t affect them, but officially the reason is unrevealed. That doesn’t mean the Black Palace doesn’t know the reason, they just aren’t telling anyone. Some people say that it’s because their DNA is already mutated by CV, but to a minor degree, and now it can’t push them any further. Others say it's an inherited genetic trait passed on through the generations from their ancestors being born on the planet. None of the regular people know the answer. Maybe someday we will.
That brings us to our guide to Jargun-Ba. He’s permitted me to use his real name and even allowed me to interview him so my readers can get to know him better. His name is Ka’vex, and he’s a Null, a pirate, and a member of the Breakers. I recorded the interview and transcribed it here for you all to read.
Deno: Morning Ka’vex. Glad you’re taking me down planetside. Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?
Ka’vex: I don’t talk about myself too much.
Deno: That’s okay. Just a little background so people can get to know you better.
Ka’vex: I used to be a Black Palace soldier. Now, I work for the Breakers. Probably shouldn’t talk too much about that.
Deno: Fair enough. So you used to work for the Black Palace. How did you go from working for the highest authority in the universe to running around with gangs from the Subspace Underworld?
Ka’vex: I went to a lot of places as a soldier. Saw some things that…changed my perspective. Decided that life wasn’t for me anymore.
Deno: Sounds difficult. Why don’t we talk about Jargun-Ba? What’s life like under the toxic clouds?
Ka’Vex: It’s not a dead world like most people think. There’s life there. Violent, unpredictable, and dangerous, but it’s still life. The people that still live there in secret, and live simple lives outside the view of the Black Palace. The Black Palace only cares about what it can get from a planet. Native Jargunians are worthless to them. They only care about digging out Abyssalite and Chaosium. They couldn’t give two shits about the people.
Deno: Are there a lot of people that live there? Will we meet any of them?
Ka’vex: Thousands of people still live on the planet. They’re isolated by choice. And we might meet them. That depends on them, and you. I’ll get in touch with them and see if they want to meet you. If not, you won’t come within a hundred miles of their homes.
Deno: To keep me safe?
Ka’vex: To keep them safe.
Deno: If you think me going down there is such a danger to them then why agree to it?
Ka’vex: Because I want people to know they exist. They deserve to be known, to be acknowledged. Everyone thinks Jargun-Ba is a dead planet inhabited by monsters but it’s not. It’s a vibrant, thriving world that’s being stripped of its resources while the people are being subjugated and forced to do dangerous work for no benefit for themselves except for some scraps of food and a few units. They deserve better.
Deno: I want to see that. I want to see Jargun-Ba as you see it. As it really is, and not what we’ve been taught. I want the truth.
Ka’vex: I know. We talked a lot before I agreed to this little mission. If I thought you were going down there to further the lie you wouldn’t go very far.
Deno: What? You’d tell others not to take me down?
Ka’vex: I would’ve snapped your neck and left you where no one would find you.
So, yeah, Ka’vex is an intense kind of guy. But that’s why I like him. Sure, he’s causally threatened my life on several occasions, but that’s just our dynamic. He cares, and he knows the planet. We’re going to go down there and see what the planet is actually like. Then, I’m going to show all of you.
Let’s see what the truth really is.
Deno Wynn
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