Vapula

"If it wasn't for the Meld, I'd say blast Burning Hell to pieces. Because of the Meld, I say blast Burning Hell to pieces and drop it into Wolf's maw. Unfortunately Luna has plans." ~Immozene Gegentot, Technocrat of Wolf

It's Not Going Great

Vapula is an exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf, about 13.8 light years from Earth. It is the first planet in order from its host star in a triple planetary system, and has an orbital period of nearly 5 days. The planet orbits too close to its star for it to be in the habitable zone, and extensive solar shading and ozone reinforcement have brought the temperatures down to levels that are survivable with the right equipment. The end goal of the terraforming project, like the other Wolf Worlds, is to create a world perfectly suited to support a large population. As of yet, survival is limited to a few airtight, heat-shielded outposts of the Wolfguard pickets and the xenoarchaeologists of various universities and academies.

Burning Hell

The landscape of the planet is unlivably harsh; while it no longer retains the temperature of Wolf, it will still cause almost instant death to any unprotected human on the surface. This has earned Vapula the monker 'Burning Hell' from the Wolfguard troopers stationed there. The XSS ruins there are half submerged in lava flows, span the shores of the black perfluerocarbon oceans full of obsidian sands, which belch toxic gasses into the atmosphere.

Xenoarchaeology

Xenoarchaeologists studying Vapula haven't found any intact transmat portals, but they have found what appears to be a series of bioweapons labs of unknown purpose. Accidental release from these labs resulted in the Meld. More cautious investigations of X'Cess facilities on Vapula have come up with evidence that they excelled at creating boutique organisms from already existing living things, and the Meld appears to be a weaponized version of this technology.