Echos

Echos is the only planet in the Sao Solar System, orbiting the Sun, Sao. Echos is a gas giant, comprised of many gases with a solid core. This core is home to a few species of bacteria and reptiles; an odd, but interesting, mix.

Geography

This planet's appearance is rather striking. The gas giant is a bright purple, with strong red markings all over, in horizontal stripes.

Core

Echos' core, like all gas giants, is made from a metal alloy, in this case mostly iron and nickel. The core is very rock-like, with cracks, small hills, and many rivers of blood that form "veins" on the core. Echos' core is roughly 40,000 kilometres wide, or 24,850 miles.

Mantle

Echos' mantle is made of liquid hydrogen and helium. There is no sharp change from the outer layer to the mantle, instead a much more gradual change. However, there are 3 major shifts in pressure within the mantle, the further in to the mantle you go. These shifts in pressure have created vastly different ecosystems, incredibly creatures have managed to adapt to this pressure and thrive.

Outer Layer

Echos' outer layer is comprised of many gases. These gases are mostly hydrogen and helium, with a few more gases making up just 0.3% of the atmosphere. Further into the atmosphere, clouds of these gases have formed, which are almost transparent.

Ecosystem

In the mantle, a whole host of strange creatures have evolved to deal with the immense pressures. These animals cannot survive in conditions without this pressure, as their bodies will simply explode and they will die. The vast differences in pressure in the various layers of the mantle have created unique ecosystems, with different creatures that are used to a certain pressure level. These animals cannot leave their pressure zone, otherwise they will die.

History

Echos has no native sapient life, and the first sapient species to set foot on the planet were the now extinct Mallonians. With their incredibly advanced equipment and armour, they were able to set up research stations on the core of the planet, submerged completely by the liquid mantle, extracting the blood and the metals from the core. The research station was abandoned when the Acra Virus wiped out the species, with none of the station surviving, only documented in the PA.