
System Description
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Inward Clearance

Tavonni considers itself to be on the frontier. Even the
forcible acquisition of the Sword Worlds has not wiped out the
memory of their attempted land-grab. This perception shapes
Tavonni's attitude towards defence and inward clearance. Most
outsiders often consider Tavonni's defence forces to be overly
large. However, this allows initial inward clearance to be
cursory and almost automatic; always remember; the Navy awaits
insystem. A patrolling naval vessel makes a cursory scan of
incoming traffic and normally clears it through to Tavonni High.
It may give special clearance if a vessel has another
destination (for example, another starport or base insystem).
Generally, this must be pre-arranged.

Tavonni System Control (TSC) is based at Tavonni High, and
monitors all in-system traffic. TSC controls the movement of
ships to and from Tavonni High to all downports, plus any ships
with special clearance that bypass the highport. It also has the
authority to declare a civil or military emergency. The
difference is that a civil emergency causes rescue ships to race
to the scene, while a military emergency causes warships to race
to intercept. Either way, TSC vectors civil and military traffic
throughout the system. All military traffic remains away from
the civil lanes, unless they enable their transponders.

All incoming ships, unless given special clearance, must dock at
the Tavonni High orbital port. Classed as "basic" in size, it
houses up to 500 passengers and 500 work crew. Refined fuel,
spare parts, armament stocks and annual maintenance are all
available, plus local foodstuffs and luxuries from across the
sector. Customs and immigration can clear planet-bound
passengers either in orbit or on the surface. In-bound cargo has
a basic inspection performed on it to ensure that its bill of
lading is accurate. Starport Authority (SPA) customs officers
sometimes inspect cargoes for contraband, but this occurs less
frequently for regular goods than for speculative cargo. SPA
personnel synchronise customs procedures with scheduled shuttle
flights, allowing passengers and cargo to proceed to the planet
with little or no waiting.

If a ship wants to land at Beowulf Down, customs officers must
first inspect it at Tavonni High. Final customs clearance may be
handled either at Tavonni High or at Beowulf Down.  TSC must
then give landing clearance before the ship commences re-entry.
Note that ships with special clearance may undergo inspection,
customs and immigration at their destination downport.

The Mainworld

Seen from orbit, Tavonni appears untouched by civilisation. A
deliberately low-key approach to development has left much of
the planet undeveloped, making it look like a green jewel, lush
with vegetation. While shuttling to the main starport on
Bj'rn'ya Island, it is difficult to imagine that advanced
sophonts live here at all. It is only when nearing The Plateau
that artificial features begin to emerge from the jungle.

Beowulf Down, the main starport, has excellent facilities for
both private and commercial travellers. Aircraft and small craft
are available for charter. Lone Scout Enterprises, an Imperial
company originally created by ex-Scout commander Mikheil B.
Powell, provides spaceship construction and starship repair. A
full Scout base is attached to Beowulf Down, and is open for
inspection once per month. trendi (Tavonni Research, Engineering
and Design Inc), a subsidiary of Menelvagor, markets new
vehicles and equipment.

The main tertiary industry is hosting conventions and meetings
for members of widespread Regency companies. The consequence of
catering for these well-to-do travellers means that Tavonni's
prices are not for the faint-hearted. Accomodation within the
starport perimeter, for example, is at the Starport Hotel
(4-star). The capital, Tamoachan City, is located moments away
from the starport via monorail. Accomodation here ranges from
the Hotel-at-the-Edge-of-the-World (5-star) through to the TAS
Hostel (4-diamond). The off-worlder notices immediately that,
having begun with only pre-fab buildings, Tavonni's population
now prefers luxurious dwellings. Due to the cultural diversity,
a number of restaurants provide off-world cuisine. In fact, most
of the cuisines of three sectors, five species and four major
races can be sampled in the capital alone.

Tavonni Safari Park (TASP), the next island west of Bj'rn'ya, is
for exclusive use by safaris. These include both camera shoots
and big-game hunting expeditions. Visitors can see much of the
more exotic of Tavonni's wildlife inhabiting the island. The
Tavonni Beach Resort is the only permanent construction on TASP.

The primary Aslan settlements are located on the eastern
continent, mainly for historical reasons. Caradoc's base is
located here, operating out of the original starport (now
C-class). It was on this continent that Count Leto first granted
land to members of the Ftai company. One other spaceport in
known to exist on the planet, but its location is classified -
as are the locations of Tavonni's deep-site meson guns. At least
four of these are believed to exist - possibly more.

Infrastructure

Civilisation on Tavonni is widespread, literally! Being a young
settlement, Tavonni's infrastructure is less than 70 years old,
and averages out at TL 13 (some at TL 15). This planetary
infrastructure contributes to the settlement pattern on Tavonni.

The only large population centre is Tamoachan City (located
close to Beowulf Down), with most of the population living in
medium sized communities, separated from their nearest
neighbours by up to 600 km or more. Most of these mid-sized
communities support smaller communities, based on primary
industry. This settlement pattern means that there are few
long-distance ground transport links. Most passenger
transportation is via grav vehicles, either air/raft taxi for
short distances, or GCoach for longer distances (for example,
via the Vargr-owned long-haul bus company, "G-Hound"). These
long-distance services stress high speed. Rental vehicles are
also available, ranging from 'Hatchback' style through to Grav
RV. Bulk cargo trade is via either a few ocean-going merchant
ships, or small craft/starships.

From early on, the government recognised the need for a good
communication net to limit the danger of dropping out of
contact. Without it, help was almost impossible to call for, and
rescuers would spend a considerable time deploying. Tavonni
established an excellent and affordable communications network.
All vehicles must be fitted with emergency beacons. Rental of a
communications service is available at short notice for Cr1 per
day plus Cr0.3 per 10 minutes on-line, with Hand Computer access
at Cr3 per day (long term rentals are lower than these prices).
The Government also created a rapid deployment emergency service
facility. In the early days, the easiest way to provide these
emergency services was to form them from the existing military
medical and police force. Today, they still retain a
paramilitary flavour, being staffed predominantly from
ex-military personnel. For this reason they find it very easy to
escalate problems to full military support in an emergency (the
military are obliged to lend a hand in civil emergencies). They
also have good access to funding, heavy equipment, and the
Count's ear on major issues.

