Oath Keep
Oath Keep is the chain that turns Warlord Okafor's seat into a nine-system fief.
Rules Reference
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Aesthetic | outpost |
| Anchor System | OKAFORS-REACH |
| Fold Bleed | medium |
| Population | 8000 |
| Role | satellite |
| Zone | Rim |
Notes
Controlling Faction: Independent
Dangers: Tribute garrisons enforce the Reach's laws and ignore their own; the further from the seat world, the more brutal the chain of command., Unlicensed folds happen here without Okafor's knowledge; the veil is thinner than the seat admits., Clan hostages are currency; rescuing one starts a war and leaving one ends a clan.
Hooks: A tribute world in Oath Keep is six months behind on its clan tax; the garrison commander is selling the delay to the rival who would benefit most., Recover a Reach court hostage smuggled off-belt before Okafor's court uses it as a casus belli., Map the secret folds the garrison has been running through unlicensed local cores; the folds are why the belt's Fold veil will not settle.
Lore: Oath Keep is the chain that turns Warlord Okafor's seat into a nine-system fief. Each tribute world pays a clan tax in iron rek, food and young warriors for the Ironball Pit; in return, Okafor guarantees the licensed Core passage through the belt, which is the only thing keeping the tribute worlds fed and connected. This is the cause of the Reach's shape: a stable Core monopoly at the seat, enforced by belt garrisons, paid for by tribute, and balanced by hostage insurance. The belt's medium Fold veil comes from the licensed Core buoys strung along the corridor, but those buoys require maintenance the garrison often defers; pockets of higher bleed grow where buoys have gone dark. The rival clans understand this geography and probe the belt continuously; the moment a buoy goes dark, an unlicensed fold is attempted, and Okafor's nine-system promise weakens. The belt's garrisons are therefore politically necessary but operationally stretched, which is exactly the tension Okafor manages with her court on the High Court steps.
Notable: Astringent tribute belt of seven small worlds, three fortress moons and a chain of licensed Core buoys that make the Reach's nine-system monopoly work. Garrisons live behind pressure-walled bastions; tribute compounds house clan hostages as insurance against rebellion.