Tore Up Plenty - “In Aurora’s Shadow”
Many cycles ago, captain Mason Wright discovered a remote system within the black of space. A bright star guided him here. A white dwarf he designated ‘Iota’. Not because it was the ninth star he discovered, but because of its size. “An Iota’s chance of stumbling upon this place.” He is quoted to have said while gazing upon that silvery dot in the sky.
The star illuminated what must have been a cascade of destruction. Planetoids crashing into one another, until they finally settled in their respective orbits. The aftermath left the system with three rings, called the Belts of Iota. The first belt was the Wright Belt; a ring of rapidly moving bodies, rich in metals. On the outer edges of the Wright Belt sat the wonder of the system. A blue planet, similar to old Earth.
Captain Wright ordered the immediate colonization of the planet, as it was ripe for life. The resource rich belt would also provide the metals needed for further development of the system. This beacon of colonization was soon christened Wright, after the stargazing captain that lead them here. A man whom in turn was named for the astronomer and explorer Charlie Mason.
Beyond planet Wright sat the second ring; the Maas Belt. This violent asteroid belt was named for a once wild river, also waiting to be tamed. Endeavors were well on the way on constructing mining bases within the belt. Within the relatively safe orbit of two small planetoids, their own gravity wells directing any incoming asteroids away from the miners. The planetoids Iota I and II, however, would not come to host life. Their surfaces had been ravaged by solar radiation and the impact of asteroids from its host belt.
Trapped within a tight orbit between the Maas Belt and the third ring was a dry desert world. Iota IV would soon host a small number of settlers. Awaiting soil nanites to further terraform and colonize the planet. Unfortunately, these shipments never arrived as the ‘catastrophe‘ occurred soon after the initial colonization of the Iota system.
The third ring yielded mostly barren rock, as prospectors were soon to discover. Its planets, the gas giant Iota V and the cryo-vulcanic world Iota III, would not attract the attention of settlers for a long time. Just beyond their orbit lay the system’s hidden secret. A small moon. Alien to Iota. Its celestial body hurdling through the outer reaches of the system at incredible speeds. Trapped in an orbit of its own; the result of the system’s strong gravity well. Its own rotation was so slow that for extended periods of time the same parts of the Aurora Moon would remain shrouded in darkness; causing the settlers of Iota to call whatever dwelled beyond their system “In Aurora’s Shadow”.
From Aurora’s Shadow they came. The Hegemony with their large lumbering ships and the Tri-tachyon corporation with their sleek and quick craft. The Hegemony constructed a large station in orbit of Iota III, while Tri-tachyon settled on the opposite side of the system, mining the gasses of Iota V from their secluded base. Their arrival would only fuel the agitation that already plagued the settlers of the Iota system.
The Hegemony would unwittingly set a series of events in motion that would escalate into a total war. The catalyst of this conflict was simple: The Hegemony started trading. Not with the established trade hub Iota IV, but with small independent companies. This caused Iota IV to target these small upstarts. In a desperate attempt to eliminate competition Iota IV's planetary defense forces destroyed dozens of independently owned merchant convoys. In turn this would cause a conflict between the Maas Mining Outfit and Planet Wright Shipyards, as no independent shipping captain would want to transport produced goods from Wright to Iota IV and risk being targeted by Iota IV’s defense force. Soon after, Wright Shipyards was left to sell off their manufactured goods locally and found themselves in direct competition with the Maas Mining Outfit.
Before the arrival of the Hegemony and the Tri-tachyon, Maas Mining Outfit would collect precious resources in the Maas Belt and even from the Wright Belt. Then it would ship them over to Wright Shipyards for processing and manufacturing. In turn the manufactured goods would be shipped to Iota IV, the shortest route out of the system. With the links in the chain severed all hell broke loose. The miners could no longer ship their wares to Wright Shipyards and were forced to produce their own equipment and distribute locally. Putting them at odds with Wright, which was basically trying to accomplish the same.
The ensuing chaos attracted the attention of the Aurora Moon Raiders. Consisting mainly of freebooters, mercenaries and desperate folk who lost all other means of sustaining their lives. All bend on acquiring wealth now that the system had degraded into anarchy. They had a short-lived deal with Maas Mining; to only target Wright’s vessels in return for supplies. But the Raiders quickly discovered they could just as easily take these supplies from the Mining Outfit’s poorly equipped fleets.
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Topic: Tore Up Plenty - "In Aurora's Shadow" (Read 6274 times)