Colony Flotilla
[The Dominion]
[1.3 million people]
The last true vestiges of Earth - at least, that’s what they say. Situated in a similar orbital path to the lost planet, the Colony Flotilla is the largest permanent human settlement, and acts as the veritable backbone and central hub of society, economy, and government alike. There is a large Tyche presence here, partially to protect and enforce order in the center of human civilization, partially to deter the curious and opportunistic from traveling around the local subspace.
The Flotilla is only made up of twenty-seven of the original thirty ships of the Tyche colony launch. The Orestia - according to the publicized ansible logs - had voted to break from the rest of the fleet, and travel outside of the solar system towards a known habitable, but as of yet unsettled, planet, ceasing communication soon after departure. The Electra, meanwhile, disappeared without warning before things had settled, assumed hijacked by the crew.
The Aeneid is missing for more obvious reasons.
Mars
[Smoke and Rust]
[436,000 people]
One of the first bodies in the solar system to be permanently inhabited prior to the Lost Earth incident, Mars functioned as a large-scale industrial operation for infrastructure advancement in the system. Its proximity to the asteroid belt, as well as its abundance of natural mineral resources in its own right, made it profitable to settle and develop for the future of spacefaring. Now, it has largely become the industrial center of the system at large, its existing foundries - and new expansions of general manufacturing sectors - making it a prime location to move to for a job.
Phobos and Deimos are developed as well, though to a lesser extent, dotted with residential clusters and large swathes of hydroponics systems.
The Belt
[A Flowing Fleet]
[284,000 people]
Where Mars is well-developed, The Belt remains a frontier. Not quite the lawless waste of its sister Oort Cloud, a lack of centralized development has left The Belt underpatrolled, underfunded, and undervalued. Before deep crust mining on Mars, The Belt was the source of the majority of resources in the space mining efforts, and various mining stations, rigs, and platforms still litter the asteroids between. Now, however, it’s more a relic of an early stage of humanity’s growth into its solar system, filled with unemployed and impoverished communities that lack the transport or sponsorship to leave.
That is to say, if they even want to. You can still eke out a living here if you’re willing to get your hands dirty, and some find the price of living here worth the freedom from Tyche’s constant prying eye. While the majority of the population is spread across artificial structures, there is a relatively large settlement on Ceres.
Venus
[The Skies Above]
[104,000 people]
Initially established as a network of research stations and mining operations, Venus has expanded into a thriving population of its own right. Here, the majority of people live on suspended buildings in the planet’s upper atmosphere, and while there is a sizable sector built around surface and atmospheric mining, Venus is also one of the most sought after resort and real estate destinations for the middle and upper class. Somehow, despite Tyche’s stance on costly frivolities, these resorts still seem to get along just fine.
The sharp divide between the mining sector and the luxury sector have led Venus to foster one of the most obvious and direct class divides in the system. Beyond that, Venus is also the location of both the largest prison in the system, Hyperborea, as well as the training facilities for Tyche corporate marshalls.
Europa
[Shadow of Giants]
[54,000 people]
Small and simple to overlook, Europa serves a fundamental purpose in the continued survival of humanity as a whole - it is one of the most accessible sources of freshwater, nearly making up the same output as Mars, The Belt, and Ceres combined. Beyond that, it serves as a nexus for the minor settlements dotting Jupiter’s other moons and satellites, as well as a common gateway for them into the further reaches of the solar system as a whole. While it isn’t dependent on closed systems like Venus, it isn’t as terraformed as Mars, Phobos, or Deimos - its population centers are clustered around artificial heat sources that form regional microclimates between large swathes of frigid ice.
Europa is generally the furthest frequent shuttle flights go - traveling even greater distances from the sun generally requires advance planning, a personal ship, or a special mandate from Tyche.
Pluto and the Oort Cloud
[Far and Alone]
[37,000 people]
For all intents and purposes, the people here do not exist. Tyche is not responsible for their wellbeing, the maintenance of their habitats, or the supply of their food. This is the land of the self-sufficient, the solitary, and the downright criminal.
This is the land of Anglers.
It comes with some good, some bad. The distance means no Tyche. Sure, they might occasionally send marshalls out here while chasing down a mark, but - law of space means the chances you’ll actually bump into them are astronomically small. No, the real danger comes in having to take care of yourself. Food is scarce to come by, and expensive to boot, and the few people you’ll run into are just as likely to rob you as to wave hello. There’s also a bit of a loopiness that sets in, this far from everything else. Seeing the sun as a pin-prick, it's easy to turn to the dark the other way and just -
Fly off into nothing. They call it cutting the line. It’s almost certainly suicide, but, maybe that’s the point. Deniable death. Giving up, but pretending it's with purpose.
Most people aren’t centralized, here, save for the Electra, which serves as a hub of sorts.
[The Dominion]
[1.3 million people]
The last true vestiges of Earth - at least, that’s what they say. Situated in a similar orbital path to the lost planet, the Colony Flotilla is the largest permanent human settlement, and acts as the veritable backbone and central hub of society, economy, and government alike. There is a large Tyche presence here, partially to protect and enforce order in the center of human civilization, partially to deter the curious and opportunistic from traveling around the local subspace.
The Flotilla is only made up of twenty-seven of the original thirty ships of the Tyche colony launch. The Orestia - according to the publicized ansible logs - had voted to break from the rest of the fleet, and travel outside of the solar system towards a known habitable, but as of yet unsettled, planet, ceasing communication soon after departure. The Electra, meanwhile, disappeared without warning before things had settled, assumed hijacked by the crew.
The Aeneid is missing for more obvious reasons.
Mars
[Smoke and Rust]
[436,000 people]
One of the first bodies in the solar system to be permanently inhabited prior to the Lost Earth incident, Mars functioned as a large-scale industrial operation for infrastructure advancement in the system. Its proximity to the asteroid belt, as well as its abundance of natural mineral resources in its own right, made it profitable to settle and develop for the future of spacefaring. Now, it has largely become the industrial center of the system at large, its existing foundries - and new expansions of general manufacturing sectors - making it a prime location to move to for a job.
Phobos and Deimos are developed as well, though to a lesser extent, dotted with residential clusters and large swathes of hydroponics systems.
The Belt
[A Flowing Fleet]
[284,000 people]
Where Mars is well-developed, The Belt remains a frontier. Not quite the lawless waste of its sister Oort Cloud, a lack of centralized development has left The Belt underpatrolled, underfunded, and undervalued. Before deep crust mining on Mars, The Belt was the source of the majority of resources in the space mining efforts, and various mining stations, rigs, and platforms still litter the asteroids between. Now, however, it’s more a relic of an early stage of humanity’s growth into its solar system, filled with unemployed and impoverished communities that lack the transport or sponsorship to leave.
That is to say, if they even want to. You can still eke out a living here if you’re willing to get your hands dirty, and some find the price of living here worth the freedom from Tyche’s constant prying eye. While the majority of the population is spread across artificial structures, there is a relatively large settlement on Ceres.
Venus
[The Skies Above]
[104,000 people]
Initially established as a network of research stations and mining operations, Venus has expanded into a thriving population of its own right. Here, the majority of people live on suspended buildings in the planet’s upper atmosphere, and while there is a sizable sector built around surface and atmospheric mining, Venus is also one of the most sought after resort and real estate destinations for the middle and upper class. Somehow, despite Tyche’s stance on costly frivolities, these resorts still seem to get along just fine.
The sharp divide between the mining sector and the luxury sector have led Venus to foster one of the most obvious and direct class divides in the system. Beyond that, Venus is also the location of both the largest prison in the system, Hyperborea, as well as the training facilities for Tyche corporate marshalls.
Europa
[Shadow of Giants]
[54,000 people]
Small and simple to overlook, Europa serves a fundamental purpose in the continued survival of humanity as a whole - it is one of the most accessible sources of freshwater, nearly making up the same output as Mars, The Belt, and Ceres combined. Beyond that, it serves as a nexus for the minor settlements dotting Jupiter’s other moons and satellites, as well as a common gateway for them into the further reaches of the solar system as a whole. While it isn’t dependent on closed systems like Venus, it isn’t as terraformed as Mars, Phobos, or Deimos - its population centers are clustered around artificial heat sources that form regional microclimates between large swathes of frigid ice.
Europa is generally the furthest frequent shuttle flights go - traveling even greater distances from the sun generally requires advance planning, a personal ship, or a special mandate from Tyche.
Pluto and the Oort Cloud
[Far and Alone]
[37,000 people]
For all intents and purposes, the people here do not exist. Tyche is not responsible for their wellbeing, the maintenance of their habitats, or the supply of their food. This is the land of the self-sufficient, the solitary, and the downright criminal.
This is the land of Anglers.
It comes with some good, some bad. The distance means no Tyche. Sure, they might occasionally send marshalls out here while chasing down a mark, but - law of space means the chances you’ll actually bump into them are astronomically small. No, the real danger comes in having to take care of yourself. Food is scarce to come by, and expensive to boot, and the few people you’ll run into are just as likely to rob you as to wave hello. There’s also a bit of a loopiness that sets in, this far from everything else. Seeing the sun as a pin-prick, it's easy to turn to the dark the other way and just -
Fly off into nothing. They call it cutting the line. It’s almost certainly suicide, but, maybe that’s the point. Deniable death. Giving up, but pretending it's with purpose.
Most people aren’t centralized, here, save for the Electra, which serves as a hub of sorts.