Situated just two days of normal space transit within the veil of the nebula, this small star system consists of a yellow primary with five natural orbital zones. Oryx surveyed this system and contracted with Myki Corp to harvest, refine and deliver all the resources to designated destinations throughout the Pact Worlds and beyond. Oryx, in return, recruits from all across the universe for labor to fill the many roles required to keep the operations moving smoothly.

The operations within the star system are managed through a network of Crucible-class outposts. Each zone is controlled by a Crucible-H Outpost designed for bulk resource harvesting. These smaller outposts package raw materials into uniform containers for transit to the Crucible-R Outpost that provides facilities to refine and prepare the resources for bulk transit out of the nebula to the Astraeus Terminal.

  • The Crucible-R Outpost sits at the outer edge of the star system and acts as the gateway into the system from outside the nebula.
  • Each zone of the system operates out of a Crucible-G Outpost. These smaller outposts manage their designated zone mining operations and personnel.
  • A Vigilant Security Outpost sits on the deeper nebula side of the system and relays telemetry data to all the other Outposts.

Zone 1 (Z1)

The first zone consists of an asteroid belt. Surveys indicate rich deposits of various minerals. The complexity of mining asteroids so close to the star’s gravity means that most mining is automated with drones, AI and oversight by biological staff on the nearby Z1 Crucible-G Outpost.

Zone 2 (Z2)

The second zone is a small gas planet that offers various gaseous resources harvested by a low orbit Z2 Crucible Outpost and several skimmer ships. Full raw material canisters are ejected into higher orbit where they are retrieved by Cormorant shuttles, loaded onto bulk transports and hauled to the Crucible-R Outpost.

Zone 3 (Z3)

The third zone contains an arid planet with a thin atmosphere covered in mountains and oceans of sand and choking dust. The mineral resources found here are deep beneath the surface. Mining facilities dot the landscape typically clinging to stable stone outcroppings. Several equatorial launch bases hurl canisters of raw materials into orbit for cormorant shuttles to gather and deliver to the local Z3 Crucible-G Outpost.

Regular staff rotations and equipment deliveries are accomplished with venerable Durance-class light freighters. Oryx starts most unskilled labor on this planet as an evaluation process. If valuable skills are revealed an individual is often offered a position elsewhere. If you can’t make it here, you’ll be on the next shuttle out of the sector or living in the Astraeus Terminal slums till you can scrounge up enough creds to get out. Being the only, barely habitable planet concerns for native life required extensive scanning and surveying to assure various official agencies that it was a barren, lifeless world. Those reports could be bought and paid for, or they could be legit. It remains to be seen.

Zone 4 (Z4)

The fourth zone contains the remains of a planet destroyed either by celestial collision or an ancient core explosion. Debris makes navigating this hazard difficult while the exposed resources make it quite profitable. Both automated and manned mining operations are scattered throughout the planetary corpse extracting raw materials that are delivered to the local Z4 Crucible Outpost.

Rumors persist of strange sightings within the debris field. Accounts vary from strange lights to fully formed figures watching crews work. None of these rumors have been validated with actual data.

Zone 5 (Z5)

The fifth zone is another field of debris that appears to be a terrestrial planet that failed to form. While mostly dust and smaller asteroids there are still traces of minerals present that can be harvested for refinement. The Z5 Crucible-G Outpost gathers up the resources and ships them directly to the Crucible-R Outpost.