Xene
Beyond the asteroid belt lies the colossal gas giant Xene, known only for two things: the valuable minerals that can be mined on its eleven moons, and the strange beings that recently emerged from the dark depths of the clouds. Xene is a gas giant ten times the size of the planet Kua. Its surface is ravaged by violent storms, many kilometers high and extremely dangerous to all kinds of human vehicles. For a long time, Xene was considered of little interest to anyone but the astronics of the Foundation. The events of the last few cycles have radically changed this, and instead made Xene famous all across the Horizon.
THE GHOSTS FROM XENE
They rose from the depths of the gas giant – the ghosts from Xene: the Emissaries. They claim to be messengers, but representing who is shrouded in secrecy. Some say they are the descendants of the Portal Builders, others that they are the restless ghosts of starfarers long since dead. There are even some radical theologists who say the Emissaries are the Icons made flesh. Regardless of the creatures’ origins – their arrival has changed the Horizon forever.
MINERAL MINING
When the Foundation’s probes discovered huge mineral deposits on Calest, Xene’s third largest moon, it stirred considerable discussion within the prospector community on Coriolis. More reports of promising findings on other moons came in, and suddenly, Xene was on everybody’s lips. The last ten cycles have seen several mining corporations and independent prospectors establishing themselves in the vicinity of the gas giant. It is a dangerous place – many prospectors have been lost in the shadows of Xene.
THE FOUNDATION’S STATION
The largest human settlement around Xene is the Foundation’s research installation FS-7. The old station used to have only a small crew of astronics, planetologists, and geologists, but since the mineral discoveries – and especially since the arrival of the Emissaries – the inhabitants of FS-7 have increased manifold. Today, pilgrims from every corner of the Horizon travel to FS-7 to worship the Emissary that still remains on the station.
FACTS ABOUT XENE
◆ DIAMETER: 143,200 km (roughly 11 times larger than Kua)◆ EQUATORIAL CIRCUMFERENCE: 449,648 km (roughly 11 times larger than Kua)
◆ SURFACE AREA: 64 billion square kilometers (roughly 128 times larger than Kua)
◆ GRAVITY: 2.15 standard gravity
◆ DAY LENGTH: 9.5 hours
◆ SIDEREAL YEAR: 11 Kuan years
◆ AXIAL TILT: 86 degrees
INDEPENDENT MINING COLONY “KALDER’S DREAM”
Xene’s sixth moon, Eod, houses the raggedy prospector base Kalder’s Dream. The far-from-dreamlike station has only three permanent residents: the worn-out old prospector Kalder, Lanna the cook and cantina owner, and Xoo, the thieving monkey. Miners and prospectors come here after a hard day’s work to drink, eat, and gossip about their finds.
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