ELG-2623.4

A moderately well-endowed gas giant with a reasonable number of moons, one or more of which may be worth colonizing.

ELG-2623.4.21

A small mars-like moon that’s managed to hang on to an atmosphere, clouds, and polar ice. Any one of these items would have merited a note in the logs but indications of all three on the initial scan guaranteed a follow-up visit. In this case, the ETL/Templar-manned Castores is making a detailed orbital and surface survey on behalf of the ICG with an eye toward commercial exploitation.

GAC-5623.8

A gas giant somewhere between Earth and civilization, utterly unremarkable save for the recently dispersed orbital body the Sabrosa smacked into at the untimely end of an otherwise textbook BTS jump.

GSU-1921.5

A gas giant near the very edge of validated ICG charts, and the observation point from which the initial surveys of GSV, GSW, and GSX were made.

In 1997, the Heirotus-leased ICG survey ship Hemera used the initial ICG charts to conduct a deep-range Holt-Rischmann scan of sector GSV, disappearing shortly after arrival. In 2002 the Sabrosa used the ICG observation point to begin a search for the Hemera.

GSV-368.3 (Earth)

Not listed in the official ICG star charts, GSV-368.3 appears only in highly classified Templar navigational databases. GSV-368.3 is the only human-rated planet in the GSV-GSW 0.15 AEI “sinkhole.” The local Templar garrison refers to the planet as “Terra,” and most of the local human population calls the place “Earth.”

GSV-368.3.1 (The Moon)

Not listed on the “official” Templar charts acquired by Heirotus intelligence, the orbital plot of GSV-368.3.1 is known only to authorized Templar personnel. The charting omission is a deliberate defensive precaution – the idea being that a large 0.17g mass tends to play havoc with inbound vehicles that haven’t corrected for it. The theory proves valid in the opening scenes of The Dualist, when the gravitational influence of GSV-368.3.1 pulls the Heirotus starship Sabrosa out of Am well short of its intended destination, resulting in a Jump Flare easily detected by the Cheops.

Helios

Colonized in the 16th century, Helios is a highly developed world and the corporate headquarters of Heirotus. Industrial output peaked well before Heirotus came along, though fresh investment and development by the company snapped the planetary economy out of a long period of torpor. Unfortunately, industrial output has been sharply curtailed by a recent period of geologic instability.

Major planet-side industries and resources include electronics, aquaculture, and hydrocarbons. While a good amount of Heirotus hardware is still manufactured on the surface, the company shipyards and BTS production lines are scattered throughout the cluster.

Hrazny mrDat

According to Raven Lockheart, Hrazny mrDat is “an utterly unremarkable industrial planet,” with a peak population of 1.2 billion. In her words, “the only thing this place really has going for it is [Templar head Judas] Lang’s insistence that a wormhole from the distant past will open nearby, and soon.

During Transitional Voices the planet falls under the jurisdiction of the ETL Colonial Authority, though ETL’s majority share of the planet’s official economic output is razor thin and under constant challenge from Heirotus.

KLH-149723

Well outside of ICG-charted space, the composition of the gas giant orbiting KLH-149723 enables the Aeon to conduct a highly-amplified HRV sweep of star systems on the other side of the Goldfish Nebula. The combination of Aeon sensor technology and the nebula minimizes the sensor shadow of the gas giant – though orbital mechanics somewhat limits scanning capability.