text: lk to the forewoman
  She's tall, loping and silver-shelled.
  
  "My boys and girls give their all. Makes me proud. But they do work up an awful thirst."
  
  > sell the wine to the forewoman
  "I know a lot of thirsty miners who will really appreciate this. Sure, connoisseurs turn their noses up at Khamsin wine, but to us, booze is booze. 10k credits good enough for ya?"
  
  > buy the map
  You buy the Diasporan Commonwealth star map for 2k credits, leaving you with 13k credits.
  
  > read the star map
  The following worlds are part of the Diasporan Commonwealth: Pearl, Storm, Khamsin, Cygnet, Nereus, Skadi and Autark.
  
  > Launch
  Grey, airless and cratered, its surface is nevertheless dusted with countless lights and scarred with broad highways.
  
  An industrial fuel rig extends its arms to passing freighters.
  
  Grayson runs a low-revolution saloon in high orbit, a spinning constellation of gaudy neon. A grizzled traveller sits slumped
  over the bar.
  
  > jump to Pearl
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  Moon of a storm-bedecked gas giant, jewel of the Diasporan Commonwealth: a world of blue seas, green continents and white clouds. Its night side glitters with artificial light.
  
  The Commonwealth Courier Co. has a floodlit spindle in low orbit. Viktoria doles out the packages, as ever.
  
  A dejected freighter captain is awaiting repairs.
  
  > jump to the cygnet
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  Grey, airless and cratered, its surface is nevertheless dusted with countless lights and scarred with broad highways.
  
  An industrial fuel rig extends its arms to passing freighters.
  
  Grayson runs a low-revolution saloon in high orbit, a spinning constellation of gaudy neon. A grizzled traveller sits slumped
  over the bar.
  
  > Refuel
  You can replenish your fusion cells at the industrial fuel rig for 1k credits each. 5 cells are expended.
  
  How many do you want to refuel?
  
  > jump to the Storm
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  An unbroken layer of cloud leaves this planet an almost featureless grey sphere.
  
  The Commonwealth military fleet is in orbit: hulking warships
  ready to jump into trouble at a moment's notice.
  
  defence network.
  
  A merchant service fuel tanker services civilian traffic.
  
  > talk to the lyulf
  An imperiously bearded officer appears on your screen.
  
  "You're welcome to land, captain, but this is a predominantly military world. Civilian freighters are better off going to Cygnet."
  
  > jump to the nereus
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  The world below is a bright, reflective blue: endless oceans broken up only by sparse white clouds and even less substantial wisps of land.
  
  own.
  
  > talk to the meriel
  "I like it up here. Watching the clouds, chatting with the odd space captain. Not that I'm calling you odd or anything. Although... Anyway, much better than doing national service on Storm. Deserting was the best thing I ever did."
  
  > Land
  Nereus has an atmosphere. You'll need a heat shield to get close without burning up.
  
  > jump to the skadi
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  A bright white moon, its surface smoothed over by cryovolcanic snow. There are very few lights visible on its surface.
  
  A small squadron of private security ships monitor traffic in the system, led by the infamous combat synthetic, Kala-D.
  
  > talk to the kala-the d.
  A harsh, authoritarian voice over the comm: "Traffic in orbit around Skadi is strictly monitored. No dumping space junk; no smuggling flora or fauna; no deviating from your designated landing path. We are authorised to use lethal force."
  
  > Land
  A sealed, metal-sided citadel grasps the underside of the frozen surface: an upside-down, underwater city. Plant fronds dangle into depths where strange silhouettes swim and dart.
  
  Quarantine is a way of life on Skadi. Most citizens wear cleansuits and face masks.
  
  Many parts of the city are closed to you, but the canteen run by
  Chef Elin and Chef Iason is open to all.
  
  A researcher picks sadly at his food in the canteen.
  
  A red hot diver melts through the ice far from the city.
  
  > talk to Elin
  A big, red cheeked woman with an infectious smile.
  
  "Iason learned to cook in the military, serving slop to the troops on Storm. To him everything is meat, meat, meat. But if I had the right ingredients I could cook a vegetarian meal that would knock everyone's socks off."
  
  > talk to Iason
  He hacks into slabs of meat, violently, with a sizeable cleaver.
  
  "People in this city live their whole lives being told not to touch the animals. So naturally, they want to eat animals. It
  satisfies a deep urge to rebel. But the meat I have to work with here... Abysmal."
  
  > talk to the researcher
  "Yeuch. I know this place is a research facility and not a pleasure resort, but the slop they serve here is unbearable."
  
  > talk to the diver
  Steam rises from her wetsuit. Empty jars clink at her belt. She levels a harpoon gun at you, in a not-too-unfriendly kind of way.
  
  "Unauthorised specimen. 2k. Cross me and regret it."
  
  > read the trading log
  Known Merchants:
  -Matej (Surface of Cygnet)
  
  Odd Jobs:
  -Delivering packages for Viktoria, orbiting Pearl
  -Hauling pods for Devrim on Cygnet
  
  Other Opportunities:
  -shipping-and-receiving clerk, selling a large oxygen canister (Surface of Cygnet)
  -red hot diver, selling an unauthorised specimen (Subsurface of Skadi)
  
  Potential Buyers:
  Chef Elin (Subsurface of Skadi), Chef Iason (Subsurface of Skadi)
  
  > Launch
  A bright white moon, its surface smoothed over by cryovolcanic snow. There are very few lights visible on its surface.
  
  A small squadron of private security ships monitor traffic in the system, led by the infamous combat synthetic, Kala-D.
  
  > talk to Devrim
  Devrim's a wiry, hawkish man in a jumpsuit emblazoned with corporate logos.
  
  "Got a few cargo pods to ferry into orbit if you want to make a few kilocredits?"
  
  > Yes
  "I've left them on the landing pad. Just take each one into orbit and I'll pay you 5k."
  
  > buy the heat shield
  You buy the sleek heat shield for 10k credits, leaving you with 3k credits.
  
  > Launch
  Grey, airless and cratered, its surface is nevertheless dusted with countless lights and scarred with broad highways.
  
  An industrial fuel rig extends its arms to passing freighters.
  
  Grayson runs a low-revolution saloon in high orbit, a spinning constellation of gaudy neon. A grizzled traveller sits slumped
  over the bar.
  
  > Land
  Blue skies; carefully managed fields and forests; air that's almost baseline-breathable. Elevated highways pass over the greenery with minimal impact, tangling together at the foot of narrow skyscrapers.
  
  The tallest spire reaches towards the gas giant above, satellite towers splitting off like branches: the Commonwealth Building itself. A cyborg representative allows citizens to query the government systems.
  
  embassy.
  
  Besnik's small knickknack shop stands on splayed stilts, trees
  leaning out from beneath it in search of sunlight.
  
  The landing pad is maintained by the shellskin, Katalin.
  
  > talk to the cyborg
  A friendly face on the end of thick, articulated data hoses.
  
  "How can I help you?"
  
  Aurea steps forward, golden hair billowing improbably. "I'm looking for someone by the name of Prex. He originated on Haven. And he might have given his full name as Praxiteles the Unsatisfied."
  
  The representative thinks for the briefest moment. "Prex. Biological classification: human, other, modified. Granted asylum approximately three cycles ago. After fifty days, he boarded a transport bound for Jarland. No other public information is available."
  
  Aurea frowns. "Jarland? And yes, captain, before you ask, I have a dumb name too. No, I'm not telling you what it is."
  
  > Record jarland
  You record Jarland in your ship's log as a place of potential interest.
  
  > talk to the ambassador
  The ambassador is an unnaturally dignified woman in a neat business suit.
  
  "I'm sorry," she tells you, "but I have no authority over the distribution of visa chips. The Immigration Ministry on Venter controls access to the Republic."
  
  > Record Venter
  You record Venter in your ship's log as a place of potential interest.
  
  > talk to Besnik
  Besnik's carefully cultivated oddball persona is completed by a patched waistcoat and antique pince-nez glasses.
  
  "Not got much here that'll interest a space captain. This autodoc
  unit maybe? It's a curio by modern standards, but some folks out
  there in the black might be lucky to have it. I'll let you take it away it for 2k credits."
  
  > talk to Katalin
  The sun gleams off her opalescent skin.
  
  "Yeah, I know, a shellskin living on the most hospitable world in the Commonwealth. I've heard it all before. I may not need air, but I like forests and fields. And vacuum is only a short hop away, in any case."
  
  > read the trading log
  Known Merchants:
  -Matej (Surface of Cygnet)
  
  Odd Jobs:
  -Delivering packages for Viktoria, orbiting Pearl
  -Hauling pods for Devrim on Cygnet
  
  Other Opportunities:
  -Besnik, selling an autodoc unit (Surface of Pearl) -shipping-and-receiving clerk, selling a large oxygen canister (Surface of Cygnet)
  -red hot diver, selling an unauthorised specimen (Subsurface of Skadi)
  
  Potential Buyers:
  Chef Elin (Subsurface of Skadi), Chef Iason (Subsurface of Skadi)
  
  > talk to Aurea
  An unnaturally beautiful, golden-haired woman with a jagged scar across her face and a cheap robotic arm. She slouches in the co-pilot's seat.
  
  "Prex knows more than anyone about getting out of Hardshell, so hopefully he can get me back in. He was last seen heading to Jarland."
  
  "We should be on the lookout for an amalg called Viscera."
  
  "Dr Vosov-R on Diallo tried to scan Hardshell or something."
  
  > Launch
  Moon of a storm-bedecked gas giant, jewel of the Diasporan Commonwealth: a world of blue seas, green continents and white clouds. Its night side glitters with artificial light.
  
  The Commonwealth Courier Co. has a floodlit spindle in low orbit. Viktoria doles out the packages, as ever.
  
  A dejected freighter captain is awaiting repairs.
  
  > Land
  Rain pelts down from the thick clouds above, feeding rivers that wind through warped and improbable rock formations. Air pressure and temperature are tolerable, but the pure carbon dioxide atmosphere is unbreathable for even the hardiest diasporans. Every building - civilian or military - is a robust fortress or sunken bunker. Overground traffic consists of a few rugged all-terrain rovers.
  
  A uniformed general meticulously maintains his garden under a reinforced dome.
  
  An off-duty soldier throws back drinks in an underground bar.
  
  Sitting in the lee of an austere building, military-issue breather mask held over his face, is a homeless veteran.
  
  A combat synthetic skulks around the landing pad in ill-fitting civilian clothes.
  
  > talk to the general
  He wears mixed-terrain camouflage fatigues and brightly coloured gardening gloves.
  
  "Good day, captain. Admiring my little domed oasis? Those spiked bubble-plants are from Khamsin. The pond vines are descended from native Skadi flora. And that willow tree? Well, I picked it up during a police action on Unity. It has sentimental value, even if it's ugly as sin."
  
  > Record unity
  You record Unity in your ship's log as a place of potential interest.
  
  > talk to the soldier
  "Cyborgs to the left of us, bioroids to the right. The Commonwealth's the only place left where you can find true humans." Her
  gills swell with suppressed rage.
  
  > talk to the veteran
  "You're a vagabond, captain? Me too. Used my old buddies still in the service to get hold of this classified intelligence report,
  fresh up-to-date. Gotta be worth at least 5k credits. I don't want to know what you do with it. I don't care. Gave my heart and soul at the Battle of Franklin and damned if I got any loyalty back from them after."
  
  > Record franklin
  You record Franklin in your ship's log as a place of potential interest.
  
  > talk to the synthetic
  "Please. My name is Link-J. They made me to kill, but I don't want to. Please, take me to Venter so I can be with my people. I only
  have 13k credits, but it's all yours."
  
  > take Link
  "Thank you. I will require little in the way of sustenance."
  
  Link-J moves his few belongings into one of your ship's smaller cabins.
  
  > jump to the nereus
  (You launch first.)
  
  An unbroken layer of cloud leaves this planet an almost featureless grey sphere.
  
  The Commonwealth military fleet is in orbit: hulking warships
  ready to jump into trouble at a moment's notice.
  
  defence network.
  
  A merchant service fuel tanker services civilian traffic.
  
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  The world below is a bright, reflective blue: endless oceans broken up only by sparse white clouds and even less substantial wisps of land.
  
  own.
  
  > Land
  Airy, simple buildings break up a multi-coloured and chemically unstable mix of diasporan and native flora. The ocean sparkles at the horizon in every direction.
  
  Nereus' most famous resident is the radical artist Tomer.
  
  A nervous girl paces the pier, twirling her parasol.
  
  A marine biologist lives out of his submersible, washing strung between two palm trees.
  
  A group of surfers lounge around a beach barbecue.
  
  > talk to Tomer
  You find him to be surprisingly accessible. Also wild-eyed and moustachioed.
  
  "You will buy this decompressionist statue. The last one I will
  ever make. Now I spit on the decompressionists. They are stale and trite. 1k credits. I'm charging you too much. I should pay you to take this garbage away. But I must eat."
  
  > talk to the girl
  She notices you from a distance and calls out. "You! Space captain! Excellent! I need something romantic and surprising and exotic and perfect. You must have found something like that somewhere right? Please, it's very important..."
  
  > talk to the biologist
  He shakes his head. "Nereus was settled too early in the diaspora. Before we knew better. What I wouldn't give for the quarantine they have on Skadi. This ecosystem will never be the same again."
  
  > talk to the surfers
  Their necks are gilled, their hands and feet webbed.
  
  "Man," one says, "what a mindscrew that Autark is in the Commonwealth and Jarland isn't."
  
  Her friend shrugs. "Jarland values its independence, dude."
  
  Another butts in: "And Autark would be just another lawless backwater getting owned by the amalgs without the Commonwealth fleet only a gate away."
  
  > jump to Khamsin
  (You launch first.)
  
  The world below is a bright, reflective blue: endless oceans broken up only by sparse white clouds and even less substantial wisps of land.
  
  own.
  
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  A sandy brown world orbiting close to an ageing red star. Its arid terrain is capped with scant white ice at the poles and veiled by a few insubstantial clouds.
  
  out in the system.
  
  Chief Drake leads a crew of spacesuited ice breakers, blasting
  and drilling those comets too large to dump on the surface intact.
  
  > Land
  Skyscrapers cluster together in the planet's only city, a small metropolis at the heart of a barren, dusty wasteland.
  
  A party of robed hunters has made camp outside the city.
  
  A caravan of nomads circumnavigates the planet's tiny ocean.
  
  Rella camps out in the spikelands.
  
  landing pad.
  
  > talk to Link
  "Please, when will we arrive at Venter?"
  
  > talk to the hunters
  Protected from the harsh elements by billowing robes, they peer at you through tinted goggles. One of them steps forward to speak halting Nacrese.
  
  "This is the last of our sand dragon meat. For 2k."
  
  > talk to the nomads
  They walk on elongated, webbed feet and watch you through thickly lashed eyes.
  
  "This pilgrimage is harder than even the ancestors decreed. In their time this ocean was freshwater. Now it is brine."
  
  > talk to Rella
  Long, dark-blonde hair spills out around her utilitarian gas mask.
  
  "These lands are harsh and strange, but if you respect them, you can still find a home here."
  
  > talk to man
  "Why did you even come to this hole? I'm Mirek. I'm tired and I'm bored to death. Can I catch a ride to Xanadu? I'll pay you 20k.
  Life is easy there, not like this place."
  
  > record the xanadu
  You record Xanadu in your ship's log as a place of potential interest.
  
  > buy the meat
  You buy the sand dragon meat for 2k credits, leaving you with 1k credits.
  
  > read the trading
  Known Merchants:
  -Matej (Surface of Cygnet)
  
  Odd Jobs:
  -Delivering packages for Viktoria, orbiting Pearl
  -Hauling pods for Devrim on Cygnet
  
  Other Opportunities:
  -Besnik, selling an autodoc unit (Surface of Pearl)
  -homeless veteran, selling a classified intelligence report (Surface of Storm)
  -shipping-and-receiving clerk, selling a large oxygen canister (Surface of Cygnet)
  -Tomer, selling a decompressionist statue (Surface of Nereus)
  -red hot diver, selling an unauthorised specimen (Subsurface of Skadi)
  
  Potential Buyers:
  coastal nomads (Surface of Khamsin), nervous woman (Surface of Nereus), Chef Elin (Subsurface of Skadi), Chef Iason (Subsurface of Skadi)
  
  Cargo:
  some sand dragon meat
  
  > jump to the skadi
  (You launch first.)
  
  A sandy brown world orbiting close to an ageing red star. Its arid terrain is capped with scant white ice at the poles and veiled by a few insubstantial clouds.
  
  out in the system.
  
  Chief Drake leads a crew of spacesuited ice breakers, blasting
  and drilling those comets too large to dump on the surface intact.
  
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  A bright white moon, its surface smoothed over by cryovolcanic snow. There are very few lights visible on its surface.
  
  A small squadron of private security ships monitor traffic in the system, led by the infamous combat synthetic, Kala-D.
  
  > Land
  A sealed, metal-sided citadel grasps the underside of the frozen surface: an upside-down, underwater city. Plant fronds dangle into depths where strange silhouettes swim and dart.
  
  Quarantine is a way of life on Skadi. Most citizens wear cleansuits and face masks.
  
  Many parts of the city are closed to you, but the canteen run by
  Chef Elin and Chef Iason is open to all.
  
  A researcher picks sadly at his food in the canteen.
  
  A red hot diver melts through the ice far from the city.
  
  > sell the meat
  Whom do you want to sell the sand dragon meat to?
  
  > Iason
  "The meat of a Diasporan animal gone wild. Sand dragon. A delicacy on its own world, let alone on this world of limited menus. 11k credits. A fair price, you agree?"
  
  > look
  A sealed, metal-sided citadel grasps the underside of the frozen surface: an upside-down, underwater city. Plant fronds dangle into depths where strange silhouettes swim and dart.
  
  Quarantine is a way of life on Skadi. Most citizens wear cleansuits and face masks.
  
  Many parts of the city are closed to you, but the canteen run by
  Chef Elin and Chef Iason is open to all.
  
  A researcher eats intermittently in the canteen.
  
  A red hot diver melts through the ice far from the city.
  
  > talk to the researcher
  "Would you believe it, the food is actually getting better round here? It still has its off days, though."
  
  > jump to the Autark
  (You launch first.)
  
  A bright white moon, its surface smoothed over by cryovolcanic snow. There are very few lights visible on its surface.
  
  A small squadron of private security ships monitor traffic in the system, led by the infamous combat synthetic, Kala-D.
  
  (via hyperspace gate)
  
  Airless ice-moon of a blac