Van Zandt Free Duchy Intelligence Report
1) Basic Economics
1.a) Trade
The Voxx Primus Planetary Trading Ring receives and ships, on average and per year, around 20-28.000.000.000 tons of cargo, the vast majority (>60%) of which consists of food imports from Voxx Secundus. The rest consists of ores and produced goods being shipped into the system before being shipped out. A total of 248 individual freighters and transport ships have been counted, with the majority (181 freighters) no smaller than 3 kilometers in length, with the most common classes being the "John Bachmeyer Class Tanker/Freighter."
Around ~200 of these freighters transport ores into the system before delivering cargo, either people or manufactured goods, out of the system.
The vessels
'Trusty Delivery,' 'On-Time Hallowed Foods,' and
'Bulk Discounts Need Not Apply' are outliers by stretching to 17, 19, and 25 kilometers in length in order of listing. These three ships are the primary deliverers of the food required by Voxx Primus and have been noted as specialty-build University-Class Mass Conveyors, with their arrival being celebrated by a planetary Hour Of Rest to celebrate the successful delivery of another batch of vital food for the Hives and Hivers of the planet.
1.b) Shipbuilding
In total, 43 different ship classes were encountered within the Voxx Primus system, of which only 11 were singular specialty builds. Of the known and discovered ship classes, 12 were of a military nature, of which 4 were not within the pre-Candle Keeper databases. On average, a new ship class seems to be built every fifty years, with only one military design being laid down sixty years ago before being abandoned and converted into a freighter for unknown reasons.
Due to the long-term subversion of Voxx Primus, it is estimated that the only unknown ship designs within the Free Duchy are those operating far outside the Sub-Sector or specially created military ships. The chance that a non-unique military design will be encountered is judged low due to the massive amount of vessels sent to secure Voxx Primus. Any new design built within Voxx Primus will be noticed before the superstructure is finished.
Around ~70% of all encountered ships have not been built on or around Voxx Primus, with the planet's yards specialized in three classes: the dual John Bachmeyer Class Tankers/Freighters and the ubiquitous Cobra.
The largest newly encountered ship is the 'Hallowed Cogitation of Creation' that set up shop within a heavily restricted section of the Planetary Ring 11 years ago, measuring up to an estimated ~7 kilometers. Interestingly enough, its armaments can only be described as "confusingly light," with barely a single light Macro-Cannon Turret on the hull.
The average size of the Free Duchy's military ships is ~1.5km for Destroyers, ~2km for Frigates, ~4km for Light Cruisers, and ~5km for Heavy Cruisers, with a ~100-200 meter variance detected due to their construction in different yards.
The average size of the civilian ships of the Free Duchy is ~3km for Light Freighters, ~7km for Medium Freighters, and ~20km for Heavy Freighters, though that stems from only three vessels (the Food Delivery Conveyors).
The Free Duchy is estimated to be roughly as capable a ship-builder as the Glimmering Federation at around 80% efficiency. However, that primarily stems from institutional knowledge, doctrinal conceits, and technological aid from the Mechanicus.
The cargo capacity of their ships is noted at the start of the report in section [1.a) Trade].
The yards are primarily "owned" by private interests, with Noble Houses owning only 17% of the yearly yard time. In truth, the yards are property of Voxx Primus second and Van Zandt first, as the polity massively aided in their construction and so sells "yard time" to its citizens, in which they can then use the facilities and workers with self-purchased materials to create ships. Sold yard time can be taken back at any time by Van Zandt for any reason.
2) Socio-Economics
Life in the Lower Hive, a distinction from the Underhive, is, if anything, something that Federation Propagandists would veto without a second if they saw a ten second pict-reel of it due to the horrific nature of it. 18-hour shifts of back-breaking, cruel labor. "Food" that is barely adequate to keep moving and working. Clothing that has more in common with cheap plastic sheets than any fabric. Mothers give birth next to assembly lines and are fined for missed productivity, while children are chained to the same workstations and clad in the same collar as a person just recently shot for refusing to work anymore. Strikes or work refusals are put down in
near torturous manners, with nerve gas used ubiquitously, and forced servitorization of randomly selected workers in the open and over laud-hailers being used to cow entire manufactories into compliance and to make them meet unrealistic quotas. Enforcers, what little there are, can do what they desire with impunity for as long as they have the weapons to back themselves up, being just a well-armed and trained gang...if the latter even ever applied. Justice does not exist. Joy is alien. Hope was shot dead and dragged into an alleyway to be sold for sex and body parts so long ago that not even her bones are there to be noticed. All the while, preachers stand on raised daises surrounded by armed guards or wander the streets with flocks of penitent flagellants whose backs are bloody torn-open puzzles of gore and ribbons of flesh sloughing off, their mouths screaming to the masses of their unworthiness to serve as a part of the Holy Trinary of the Imperial Creed, and that they must repent by spending their days in service to the God-Emperor in all things they do, be it in a manufactory or the military. The Ministorum seems to be far more in lock-step with the stances and views of the government than old experiences with Neon tell, but it is uncertain if that is because the faith follows the government or the government the faith.
On average, ~2-12 Hab-Blocks are in open revolt at any time in any single Hive, fighting viciously against enforcers that use tanks, flamers, and gas without care for collateral damages.
Education does not exist beyond those lucky enough to have parents in jobs that require some form of it or can bribe themselves into an organization where they are given the same. It is entirely an apprentice approach, with the only "schools" located in the Upper Hive for the servants of the Nobility.
Wages do not exist as the broader Federation population is used to. No payments at the end of a month for services rendered, but coin in hand at the end of a shift, with the amount of coin heavily depending on if you pleased or displeased your superiors. Sexual, Psychological, and Physical Abuses are rampant, with wages withheld for minor infractions that wouldn't even be glanced at twice in the Federation, or wages increased for providing information about one's fellow workers, alongside corruption that skims more than the top-off the salaries set by the manufactory, shop, or service business owners.
Food is "state-provided" as House van der Snipe owns all food production within the Hives. All incoming food is bought first by the same before being sold to the Daily Meal Guild, Corpse Guild, Ration Merchants, and the various Houses for luxury items.
Law enforcement exists purely for the benefit of the Upper Hive, keeping out the "riff-raff" while ensuring that any uprisings are swiftly squashed with all available brutality. There are no checks or balances on them, and they can act with impunity wherever they go, only restrained by their fellow enforcers and the need to keep the peace
somewhat existing. Murders, rapes, extortions, corruption, torture, theft, and all other manner of crimes are done by the enforcers with increasing regularity the lower one goes within a Hive.
3) Corruption
To ask about (non-Chaos) corruption within Voxx Primus is only done by the uninformed. There is no corruption if
everyone is corrupt. If anything, those who
don't take bribes are seen with naked suspicion, as bribery and "hidden" deals are seen as natural.
Yet, if one tries to break the mold, either by going after the corrupt or by breaking made deals, "examples" are made of them—screaming, pleading, burning examples.
However, the attacks against the Underhives are seen by nearly everyone as only a breaking of deals
if no warning was sent by the paid-off enforcers or those who had their backs scratched with delivered goods, people, or services. Those people either vanished of their own volition quickly found out that the cruelty of the Drukhari does not compare to that of Gangers seeking revenge.
4) Propaganda
The enemies of the Duchy are Ork Corsairs, Drukhari Raiders, Chaos Cultists, and Undefined Internal Evil.
Their propaganda focuses on using the "Trinity of the Imperial Creed" to portray the might and resilience of humanity and the Free Duchy. They claim that with their veneration of the God-Emperor, the faith of the Mechanicum in the Omnissiah and Machine-God, and the Unbreakable Human Spirit, they shall overcome all challenges that lay in their way, no matter how insurmountable they may seem.
Very interestingly, Psykers feature heavily in these propaganda pict-reels as those burdened by the God-Emperor to be vessels for his will and power, to set out and destroy the enemies of humanity in his name at the risk of searing out their soul and letting the Warp devour it. They are mostly seen using their powers to turn entire Ork advances into ash or using pin-point fire of lightning to set Drukhari ablaze, but some have them depicted as "conduits" for machinery to eradicate ships with jets of fire and carve through them with beams of unreality. The end of those pict-reels states without fail that all children above 6 Standard Terran Years must be brought to an Examination Center to be scanned for psychic potential, and non-compliance is punishable by death.
The list of the Noble Houses of Voxx Primus of interest to the Federation includes House Adlhard, Hosue Ninchi, House Gregory Van Terrn, and House Öliastoutouplisou who, in order, are tasked with the PDF/SDF Aeronautica, the supplies for the PDF, the extraction of ore from within the system and planet, and all medical matters.
Official propaganda states that the Mechanicus, though weird and often frightening, are devout servants of the God-Emperor who pray to Him On Holy Terra through a guise he wore to bring them into the fold for the services they will render Him in the coming millennia.
Currently, their propaganda has shifted to focus on the "White Void" "eating Sub-Sector Archwan" in response to their discovery of our existence. It primarily focuses on getting people to sign up for the Voxxian PDF and SDF, with a side note of justifying increased quotas. They have adopted a Siege Mentality stance against us, with justifications being laid down for mass conscriptions once conflict breaks out. Yes,
once, for they are certain that the White Void will soon come to devour them, too.
Next Intelligence Reports:
(6-Hour Moratorium)
[] Shipwright's Alliance and Stellar Growth
[] Mashan Temple Authority and Ashan Families
[] Eldar - (Lone Wave) and the Republic of Asharru
[] Black Ash Clan, Black Cat Company, and The Croaf Hegemony
Further Van Zandt Free Duchy Questions:
[] (Write-In)
An: Since the vote decided to continue,
I decided that, yes, you
should know the same shit you know about Voxx about the
other polities you have encountered. As such, please hold for 7 Intelligence Reports; please ask further questions at your leisure.
Additionally, I am going to be asking about the
intent behind write-ins to remove possible further misunderstandings.
I appreciate your patience, and I hope this will be the last such incident until the Quest ends.
