Hades system

Hades is a lawless system that is technically classified as abandoned by UEE stellar cartography. A blue-white B9 IV star, Hades produces too little heat for a viable green band; while several planets survive in orbit, none has the heat to support life. In broad stellar terms (and in seeming contradiction to the age of other stars in the stellar neighborhood), Hades seems to be nearing the end of its life cycle.

Hades was first identified in 2515 by the Merry Crow, a tramp freighter. The discovery was not formally cataloged because the ship was carrying several hundred freight units of stolen fusion drives. Nineteen years later, Jake Tapps, the Crow’s navigator and sole surviving crew member, found himself penniless and planetbound. He sold the ships’ extensive logbooks to finance a SLAM habit and the Hades System was subsequently charted and officially registered by the Dynamo Corporation.

Interest in the system skyrocketed once Dynamo’s exploration ships conducted their initial survey. While the system was deemed still totally inappropriate for terraforming, they located significant evidence that all of the worlds were once home to an extinct spacefaring society. Decades of research have created an interesting picture of an advanced society that ultimately wiped itself out through internecine conflict. The majority of the surface of Hades’ three inner planets is pock-marked with impact craters, while the final, former planet in the system has literally been split in half through as-of-yet identified means. It was this grandiose level of destruction that gave the system its name.

While there are no facilities for refueling or ship maintenance in the Hades system, it is still part of an active spacelane. However, very few alter their courses to explore the inner system.

Most of those who are willing to traverse on to the planets are xenoarchaeologists and tomb raiders. Despite the widespread devastation, thousands of structures have been identified on Hades’ graveyard worlds, and many more are believed to exist underground. Countless artifacts are taken (or stolen) from these sites each year, and it is believed that there are a number of ongoing, formal ‘outlaw’ operations running to try to locate some of the technology that the Hadesians used to destroy themselves.

The Hadesian Civil War
Named after the ancient mythological underworld, Hades is an ancient battlefield of the dead. Xenoarchaeologists theorize that a system-wide civil war ended in the self-annihilation of the civilization. The UEE registry lists this unclaimed system as having three and a half planets. The "half planet" is Hades IV, which has been split in half by a mysterious force. Hades has endured as an archaeological curiosity for both scientists and the public alike, some of whom are convinced the Hadesian 'planet-killer' tech is somewhere in the system.

Evidence points to a terrible war that occured between the three inner planets. One possibility is that they were all settled by three different species. Another is that only one species inhabited all of the planets and then splintered into enemy factions. The evidence so far has indicated the presence of only one species but there is clearly a lot more to discover in the system.

The Hadesians
There are as many theories about the Hadesians’ nature as there are stars in the sky. Every year, a fresh batch of university graduates descends on the system, hoping that they will be the ones to finally crack the mystery of this civilization, and every year, they go away in frustration. That doesn’t mean that the Hadesian are a complete mystery. Scientists have managed to roughly determine their physical dimensions and that their civil war was fought roughly 300,000 years ago. Based on skeletal and architectural evidence, Hadesians were roundish creatures with a bulky central body. Multiple thin appendages (a number that apparently varies from Hadesian to Hadesian) and a pair of long arms complete the figure.

The Hades Cryptid
Travellers to the system often swear that it is haunted. Also known as "Hades Satan", "Tobias" and "Thanatos", the mysterious Hades Cryptid has had reported sightings over the years by Humans, Banu and Xi'An. The creature has been described as lacking skin, with blue veins and blue musculature visible on the being's surface. However whenever someone tries to get a good look at it, it vanishes.

"I had put my ship on automatic, bearing for Hades III, and then climbed down to the middeck. As I stepped toward the hold, I caught sight of something in the darkness. I couldn’t say it was even Human, but Humanoid at least. I had an immediate impression of a body with exposed musculature, covered in blue-hued veins. It turned to look right at me when my ship suddenly rocked. It was gone. It was a nanosecond of an encounter, but I was left with a terrible sense of presence. It was as though I’d seen something my mind couldn’t understand. The feeling never passed. I sold the ship when I got home; it didn’t feel like mine anymore."

- Eli Thorn, Navjumper on the Hades Cryptid.

Hades I
Even though this planet lacks an atmosphere, various craters and ruins indicate that Hadesians once occupied it. Some wonder whether the atmosphere was another victim of the system's civil war.

Hades II
Shattered Hadesian cities cover this planet, which suffers from a violent atmosphere filled with both volcanic ash and unrelenting winds.

Hades III
A toxic atmosphere keeps most xenoarchaeologists from exploring this planet's ruins. The landscape is covered in impact craters hinting at the horrors that befell the system's original occupants.

Hades IV
Hades' famous "half planet". This world was split in two distinct halves by a mysterious force.