Imziinune is a frigid wasteland with an average temperature of -115°C.
The world serves as a base of operations for those few belters looking to
exploit the mineralogical wealth of the system's two asteroid belts. As there
are no gas giants in the system, Imziinune's frozen oceans are a source of
hydrogen fuel. Prices aren't cheap. 500 cr/ton for unrefined fuel is the going
rate. Surprisingly, the Vilani Navy maintains a base here. The local economy is
subsidized by their presence.
It seems odd that a world of 7,700 people would be balkanized, but that is
indeed the case. Legend has it that each of the settlements was founded by
brothers with a strong sense of sibling rivalry. In their efforts to outdo one
another, they passed on such heated rhetoric about the others to their
descendants that hatred grew with each generation. Being isolated from one
another, no attempt was made to discern the truth. Ultimately, war broke out.
After half the world's population had perished, cooler heads prevailed. While
each "state" retained its independence, there's more focus on what they have in
common than what they don't.
The subsector capitol is a hot, dry world. Its pitiful ocean is saturated
with salts. Strict water rationing and recycling is enforced by the government.
Desalination is used as a last resort. With a 53 1/2 hour rotation, days last
forever but nights bring long lasting relief. If the cost to import ice from
other systems wasn't prohibitive, it would've been done by now. Instead, the
loyal bureaucrats and lobbyists that help to run the subsector faithfully
endure.
As local industry consists of small mining operations of common ores, the
economy relies heavily on the flow of money from offworld. The Bureaux all
maintain offices here to direct operations in the coreward-trailing corner of
the Ziru Sirkaa.
Originally deemed worthless, Kimii was uninhabited for millennia. As part of
the First Grand Survey of the Third Imperium, the world received a second
look. It determined that there were in fact enough transition elements present
to warrant mining operations. Most corporations stayed away though, preferring
the ease of asteroid harvesting over a gravity well. The Kimiisennu Corporation
finally bought the place, named it after itself, and established a colony.
Business was good for several centuries but a run of bad investments coupled
with executive embezzlement destroyed the company in 997. Operations were shut
down and assets sold for scrap. Executives bailed while the disgruntled
workforce was laid off. The world floundered as it suddenly found itself on its
own.
It took some time, but a DIY attitude arose from within. Cities do what they
can to survive. Activities considered illicit on other worlds have found a haven
here. The government takes its cut and looks away as this gives the economy a
pulse. With the return of the Ziru Sirkaa, it is hoped that there will be a
renewed interest in local investment. Tax policy has been changed to offer
incentives to corporations to put down roots, but so far there have been no
takers.
The ice world of Aanshi is home to the Aanshi Corporation - the bottled
water, ice block, and distilled spirits giant. The Vilani didn't realize the
gold mine they were sitting on. It took Solomani entrepreneurs to realize that
the frozen water world was an opportunity to make them rich. With thirsty
billions on St. George (2616), Mimere (2914), Lourer (3011), Amnukun (3212), and
Ansin (2412), it was easy to market pure Aanshi ice water over the recycled
stuff. And all of Aanshi's distilled spirits (vodka, gin, shukuush, and
uekhfarsal) are considered top shelf and are marketed as luxury items for
worlds where plentiful drinking water isn't a problem.
The scout base is used primarily for training recruits to deal with the hazards
of sea ice. Landing a post here is a popular assignment.
Mimere is a frigid world with an atmosphere of ammonia and methane, so it may
come as a surprise that the world is home to some 5 billion people. Large
quantities of nickel-iron asteroids were found in its asteroid belt along with
other precious metals and even lanthanum. Even so, the belt wasn't exploited for
its wealth until the brief Rule of Man. Solomani colonists of French
descent, deceived by the name (mimere is French for "grandmother"), settled here
in large enough numbers to compete with the original Vilani colonists.
The Igsiirdi view the sizable Solomani French population as a threat. A culture
war is brewing here. The French community is fiercely proud of their heritage
and resent the fact that tax dollars are being used to ram Vilani culture down
their throats. Cities, both orbital and surface, are polarizing and curfews have
been established to keep things civil.
Like Theton (Vland 3107), there are no gas giants
in the system so the atmosphere is mined for fuel. Unlike Theton, Mimere's
dense atmosphere provides for ample ammonia, though the price still tends to
run three times the standard rate.
Zaan's daily extreme temperature swings (hot days/arctic nights) always made
it an ideal training ground for Scout Service recruits, though it left little to
be desired for potential colonists. Nonetheless, a small settlement arose which
catered to the needs of off duty Scout personnel. While no official government
ever arose, all colonists looked to the Scout Base executive officers to keep
the peace and settling disputes. In turn, the Scouts used a light touch when
running things.
When the Ziru Sirkaa re-established itself, the Igsiirdi saw Zaan as too chaotic
and didn't want another Mimere (Vland 2914) on their hands. The world
was placed under the jurisdiction of Makhidkarun. Fortunately, the administrator
assigned to the world saw that the Igsiirdi overreacted. Informal rules were
formalized and a police force established. But besides promoting Vilani cultural
values, there is little for the administration to do.
Ami is named after the granddaughter of former TerrAgra Ventures CEO, Allen
Schmidt. He bought the planet for her because he admired her devotion to botany.
One might wonder why a prime world wasn't being utilized for agricultural
purposes or colonized outright. It turns out a clerical error was to blame. The
initial survey during the expansion years of the Ziru Sirka listed the
atmosphere as "very thin" by mistake. It was shunned for centuries. It wasn't
until a misjump by a TerrAgra freighter early in the 700's revealed the world
for what it was. Upon learning of the discovery, Schmidt buried the news until
he could arrange to purchase the world.
When Ami Schmidt received her gift, she defied all recommendations to open up
the world to development. Instead, she set out to create a private nature
preserve. She could've applied for Imperial Reservation status, but she forewent
that as well. While it meant losing out on Imperial grants, going independent
enabled her to ignore Imperial rules regarding reservations. While her word was
law, there was never any official government body established nor did she enact
any laws, save for minimizing one's ecological footprint on the pristine world.
In essence, she made it up as she went along.
Over the centuries, a combination of anagathics and cloning have kept the world
in Ami Schmidt's hands, so to speak. When the current version of Ami can no
longer sustain herself, she lets herself die and passes the world on to her
clone heir. Each successor has lived up to her namesake's disposition and ideals.
Ami has tried to keep humanity's footprint at a minimum on her world. The
population has grown to 22,000 through natural means and limited immigration.
The lack of starport facilities helps to deter traffic and entrepreneurs.
Revenue is generated through the sale of scientific research and by providing a
home to endangered species that are deemed to be non-threatening to the local
balance of flora and fauna. This income is then spent on supplies that can't be
generated on world.
Khunimman is a very cold world swathed in a mix of nitrogen, methane, and
ammonia. Seas of ammonium hydroxide cover most of the planet. The world was
originally owned by the Shiisuneshkhe Corporation, but was scarfed up Naasirka
during the Consolidation Wars. It promoted the world as a natural ammonia
factory, but there was little interest in the marketplace. During the Second
Imperium, when the Bureaux were forced to divest themselves of the majority of
their assets, Khunimman was an easy choice to let go.
With no infrastructure or authority in place, people are free to come and go as
they wish. A small group of merchants make their living siphoning the ammonia
into tanks and selling the raw material to industrial enterprises on other
worlds, like Shaia.
There wasn't much here to get the attention of the Vilani during the early
years of the First Imperium. The world was cold with very little land and the
investment required to search for exploitable resources just seemed too much of
an expense with so many other promising planets around. Despite its ease of
accessibility, even the asteroid belt was ignored.
All that began to change with an asteroid impact three thousand years ago. The
impact vaporized enough ice and water to swath the planet in impenetrable clouds
for decades. The crust was weakened in spots, enabling magma to burst from the
mantle and form a large sub-surface oceanic rise before the fissures healed. If
it had continued, a large continent would have formed. Instead, several large
volcanic islands rose from this submerged plateau and land now constitutes 3%
of the surface.
Centuries would pass before the new world cooled enough to permit the
establishment of permanent settlements. When the Third Imperium was born, the
world was ready.
"Shaia" is believed to be the love interest of one of the members of the
Imperial survey team which re-discovered the planet. Whether or not that's true
is lost to the ages. Irregardless, the planet was still warm from volcanic
activity when the survey team arrived and thus an interesting target for
resource acquisition.
The world has cooled considerably since then. But that is immaterial now. Mining
corporations have moved in to exploit the easily accessible mineralogical
wealth. Industry soon followed. A "neutral" government was established to manage
development, but it's effectiveness has been haphazard at best. That's not to
say the world hasn't prospered.
While the first settlements were on the volcanic islands, subsequent development
has occurred offshore. As the population rose, huge platforms were constructed
above the shallow seas to form artificial islands dedicated to highly
concentrated urban living. As technology advanced, submerged, floating, and
orbital cities were built to keep up with the influx of immigrants looking for
work.
Radiant heat, combined with effluent waste whose properties resemble a sort of
anti-freeze, keep the oceans free of ice within the vicinity of human activity.
What effect this is having on the biosphere is unknown. There have been no
studies performed to determine if Shaia's oceans support any macroscopic life.
Urban legends say otherwise.