Volantis System

Some of the best mining in the known galaxy...if you have the cred for it.

Volantis is a star system made up of planets that are naturally uninhabitable and have historically resisted terraforming. Early attempts were made to terraform at least two planets in the system before the Collapse and the smaller bases in the system were set up, but transporting workers in and out of the system was expensive. After the Collapse, the system was abandoned due to a lack of ability to access any of the ore-rich planets.

When the system was finally moved into again, attempts were made to pick up the same as before but after significant failures were made in repairs to the now somewhat dilapidated bases on some of the planets, the temporary space station that had been built for the attempt was developed into a permanent structure that became Elysium Station. There are small bases on Seano Shani, Osleed's Landing, and Asherah but these are never home to anyone, merely temporary shelter for rotating teams of miners.

Most of the planets in the system are full of iron and other metals, though there is also often stone taken from the planets as well to transport to other systems for construction.

Men and women died to make Volantis what is it today. They still die...only now it's for cred that they don't even see most of the time.

— Diana Sonels

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Credits: Banner was created in Illustrator with images generated using Artbreeder.

Type

Star System

Vehicles Present

• Elysium Station

Characters in Location

• Zyphil the Imp

Related Historical Events

• 3.14 - 3.18.621 ATC | 3850 AFT
  Meira Kinsail's Investigation on Elysium Station
• 617 ATC | 3846 AFT
  Zyphil the Imp is Bound to Meira Kinsail
• 595 ATC | 3824 AFT
  Meira Kinsail Born on Elysium Station
• 385 ATC - 387 ATC | 3614 AFT - 3616 AFT
  Construction of Elysium Station
• 3213 AFT
  Terminus Colony Destroyed
• 3083
  Expansion into Volantis System
• 448 AFT - 450 AFT
  Construction of Terminus Colony
• 430 AFT - 434 AFT
  Expansion into Volantis System

Status

Uninhabitable

Settled

434 AFT

Planets

Five (5)

Other Objects

Gahi Iron Asteroid Belt
Elysium Station

Metha Coni

The closest planet to the system's sun. This planet is mined purely by shielded robots as humans are unable to survive the atmospheric conditions. Because of the conditions on planet, it is also not possible to have any kind of base on the planet. Instead the mining robots are ferried every eight ticks to and from Elysium Station by shuttle and are dropped off. The trip there and back from Elysium is two ticks round trip, so the robots have six ticks to mine before they make the return trip. Sometimes these hauls are heavily profitable - particularly when a high grade bed of metal has been discovered - but they also sometimes come back with little more than scraps.

Moons

Petram and Reise

Mining Yield

Light Metals (ex: Lithium, Cobalt, Titanium, Magnesium, Beryllium)

Seano Shani

The second planet in the system, it is mined half by humans and half by robots. There is a careful observation of the rotation of the planet and humans are only actively mining on the dark side of the planet. Anyone on the side of the planet facing the sun is inside well-shielded bases, using robots to do the work during this period as the sun's rays would kill anyone outside.

Moons

Vider

Mining Yield

Heavy Metals (ex: Palladium, Platinum, Gold, Iridium, Mercury)

Osleed's Landing

The third planet in the system, it was the first of the two planets in the system that were attempted to be terraformed.
Osleed's Landing got it's name from being the first planet that was landed on in the system by the exploratory group of scientists from HTA Global Logistics who travelled there between 430 - 434 AFT, led by Gavin Osleed. Osleed himself died during the attempt to terraform the planet, having ordered his team to evacuate before the terraforming equipment exploded violently as he tried to stop the oncoming disaster. Even now, a crater remains on one side of the planet, known locally as the Glowing Ring due to having exposed gradiations of the heavy metals the planet is known for. That half of the planet is highly unstable, being prone to earthquakes and violent sandstorms, and an ancient edict of the Core Senate declared it illegal to mine it in memory of Osleed.
While terraforming efforts were surrendered after Osleed's death and the planet named after him for his sacrifice, there are several small bases on the stable side of the planet that are the headquarters for the mining efforts on planet.

Moons

Manez, Artell, and Longarc (named after three of the members of Osleed's team: Jesse Manez, Adard Artell, and Billie Longarc)

Mining Yield

Heavy Metals (ex: Palladium, Platinum, Gold, Iridium, Mercury)

Important Event in 434 AFT

Terraforming of the planet began.

Important Event in 435 AFT

Terraforming of the planet failed.

Elysium Station

Originally conceived as a temporary space station to retake the system, it became a permanent home to everyone working in the system when scans showed that the planets were still uninhabitable. Given that terraforming technology had been lost during the Collapse, no attempts could be made to mold the system planets into livable zones and so Elysium began to grow outward from its humble original base.
Now it is the home of everyone who resisdes in Volantis whethere permanently or temporarily and the shipping origin of almost all of the mined materials in the Cluster.

Primary Work

Construction, Science, Law/Security, Natural Resources, Transportation

Important Event in 3614 AFT

Construction begins.

Important Event in 3616 AFT

Construction is completed.

Gahi Iron Asteroid Belt

Lying between Osleed's Landing and Asherah, the Gahi Iron Belt is named specifically because the asteroids in it have a very high iron yield. Despite the richness of the yield, the field is very dangerous to navigate and even the best pilots can be lost within it. Only the most daring (or foolish) of human miners dare go there to attempt to pull resources from it. Otherwise it is largely mined by robots...although even those are sometimes lost when they attempt to leave the field after finishing their task.

Mining Yield

Iron

Important Event in 3213 AFT

Terminus Station drifts out of orbit and into the asteroid belt, where it is destroyed.

Asherah

The only other planet humans attempted to terraform in the system, it seemed to be like it was going to succeed where Osleed's Landing failed. Then, as the planet passed through the system, it was abruptly discovered that the path of the planet itself removed that possibility. While in part of the system terraforming was a possibility on the planet but once it passed int the other half of the system, the planet passed so far away from the systems sun in its orbit that it temporarily became an ice planet (though nowhere near as thickly coated as Eridu). After losing an entire team when the planet made a rotation, attempts to terraform it were abandoned and it is only mined by humans during the period where it is in warm rotation.

Moons

Lusin and Falzir

Mining Yield

Light Metals (ex: Lithium, Cobalt, Titanium, Magnesium, Beryllium)

Important Event in 437 AFT

Terraforming begins and fails.

Eridu

The final planet in the system, Eridu is largely an ice planet as it lies at the outer edge of the system. While there has not been much progress in actually reaching the surface of the planet due to the speed that the ice forms, many gases have been mined from the ice by robotic crews.

Moons

Lotune

Mining Yield

Gases (ex: Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Helium-3, Xenon, Oxygen)