Slip Space Series : Colonies of Sector 7.7.7

Vehga Irridanna Colony: First settled in the year 5,670 by pioneers, later officially recognized as a Protectorate colony in 5,727, Vehga colony is owned by a wealthy consortium and is the breadbasket of the Outer Rim sector 7.7.7. All food production now occurs on this harsh but livable planet. The mainstay crop is a hearty genetically modified grain called Pashto which is often transported by colony ships to be used as a crop due to the plant’s ability to thrive anywhere people can breath. When the Union council passed the great expansion initiative many colonists set out for the outer rim to find their fortunes or to escape the grip of the Corporations.

The planet's geography mostly amounts to mountainous poles with large empty plains and deserts with more habitable lands the closer to the equator where a continuous rain forest belt makes up the middle of the planet. Large lakes form near this rain forest as all water flows to the equator. This forced corporations to build massive pipelines to send the water north and south, as well as mine asteroids for additional water to help terraform the planet into something more livable.

Karnak: One of hundreds of space stations constructed in the year 5677 according to the Union Standard Calendar, this massive ship was sent out to the outer Rim to act as the Protectorate’s central authority over sector 7.7.7. The space station was built in a span of five years and towed to it’s destination by the Dahgna Tumperrette and three other battleships. The vessel was sent to orbit Vehga Irridanna but due to a minor navigational glitch ended up many light years from its target in a nearby system. Arrival in Sector 7.7.7 occurred in the first quarter of 5,727. Karnak ended up at an ideal location as once other colonies formed it was strategically placed between them. At its best Karnak could support 20,000 sapients, though in recent decades due to disrepair and aging systems the current population never exceeds 8000 people for safety reasons and cost of living aboard the aging station.

Bruen Dallor Colony: Discovered a year after Vehga’s official settlement by the protectorate in 5727, Bruen is a massive planet with a highly sought after mineral which is refined into diffusion reactor fuel. As this is the planet’s only major export, all colonization is built around mining and refining this precious commodity. Bruen has an unusual gravitational pull for its size due to high concentrations of Malogonaut which is a stable super heavy element. The planet’s core may be entirely made of this element which would explain why bruen’s gravity is twice that of Union standard Gravity and about 2.4 times Earth’s. The atmosphere is breathable, barely, due to extensive algae farms near the massive refineries. While life existed there before the Union arrived, it was mostly small plant life and insects with unusually thick exoskeletons.

Dalta Verrida Gorhmen: An independent colony not under Protectorate jurisdiction, Dalta is a frozen mountainous world with mineral riches the envy of any sector. The original colonists to discover it formed a pact to claim the colony for their families inheritance and thus the independent colony of Dalta was settled. Dalta is key to all expansion into sector 7.7.7 and is the target of frequent pirate attacks as well as Corporate interests. Dalta maintains its independence but freely trades with anyone willing to barter. Dalta’s colony is separated into many underground cities carved out of the mountains which hold vast metal and mineral riches. Dalta is also the only port of call currently equipped to build new ships. While the Protectorate has no jurisdiction over Dalta, they begrudgingly trade with the colony. Dalta effectively controls the local economy due to their monopoly on rare elements needed for industrial development.

Other smaller colonies exist, about a hundred, but they are all privately owned and host less than a thousand people living in modified space craft turned mining rigs. These colonies gather various resources and rely on smaller owner operator shipping to get their product to market.