Участник:NewOriginalSchwann/Sandbox
Aemaq is an Elryan frontier world with a population hovering around five-hundred million permanent residents, making it one of the less populated worlds in the Republic itself. The planet is located in the al-Wakwak system, and dwells fairly close to the system’s star - resulting in a quite hot, hard to inhabit environment on a planet dominated by vast chemical seas that cover upwards of ninety-five percent of the planet’s surface. The oceans of Ameaq are home to a vast amount of valuable chemicals and exotic maritime life, leading to the planet being fairly wealthy (if hazardous) and prosperous. The cities of Aemaq are built aboard hovering anti-gravity magpulse platforms that hold them above the chemical seas, and they are shielded from the chemicals in the air by use of massive energy domes that protect the floating cities. Below these floating cities is an ocean teeming with life despite the chemicals, some of which can grow to titanic sizes. However, the oceanic life of Aemaq is remarkably docile towards humanity, with floating cities and massive sea creatures living side-by-side in the oceans.
The Aemaqian capital of Rumaidair houses nearly forty million inhabitants in its massive floating city, which has come to be viewed as the premier example of floating cities on the planet in the Republic of Elyra and beyond. Utilizing magpulse drives similar to those found on Medina, Rumaidair floats a comfortable hundred meters above the Aemaqian Seas as it travels around the planet. The city itself is renowned throughout the Orion Spur as a key area for the chemical industry, with it being able to produce extremely rare chemicals in numbers unreachable elsewhere due to massive chemical “scoops” that draw materials from the seas themselves. All cities are like Rumaidair, with hundreds of magpulse plates holding them aloft above the ocean - each plate steadily pulsing and readjusting itself as the ocean swells below it.
Aemaq lacks any natural satellites, and has an odd appearance when viewed from orbit - light reflecting off of the planet’s oceans leads to the world appearing to be a dark bluish-purple hue.
History
While sometimes considered the sister planet of Medina, the formal exploitation and colonization of Aemaq began several years later in the mid 2350s, following the discovery of obscene amounts of rare and valuable chemicals in its massive chemical seas. However these same seas made the planet essentially impossible to colonize in the traditional manner: there was almost no land, the environment was remarkably prone to rapid temperature changes, and building standing platforms was impractical due to the highly-chemical nature of the Aemaqian Seas. Some daring entrepreneurs launched “sea scoop” vessels that would enter Aemaq’s atmosphere, suck up chemicals from its oceans, then travel to an orbital refinery but this was found to be too expensive to be practical - even when AI-controlled fliers were used. It would be several more years before practical colonization was viable.
In 2374 the first magpulse drives were tested on Aemaq, following their success on Medina. The more advanced magpulse drives used in the planetary capital of Rumaidair compared to the initial magpulse drives of 2360 resulted in a smoother first settling than on Medina, and the planet rapidly became a hotbed of colonial industry and development.
By 2378 individuals from across the Republic of Elyra - and even the Coalition of Colonies - were migrating to Aemaq to join its booming chemical industries. The planet has only grown wealthier since then and, with zero recorded failures, the magpulse systems of Aemaq remain a gold standard for the effectiveness of Elyran technology throughout the Orion Spur.
Culture
Art
The social culture surrounding Medina is one of perfection and art, and the planet itself has built an astounding reputation for quality in its exports. Medinean goods are valued galaxy-wide and especially in the Republic of Elyra. The quality of goods can be attributed to the immediate availability of almost every planetside resource imaginable short of biological. Little needs to be imported to Medina thanks to this, making the vast majority of products entirely local. As a result, in the floating cities, creation is as deeply rooted in one’s basic routine as eating or drinking may be. As extracting materials grows more automated, the creation of all manner of commodities proliferates.
With the above said, art is a key factor of Medinean culture. The Republic’s greatest artists find themselves often starting out on Medina, drawn to the freedom such unfathomable resources provide.
Individuals born planetside tend to grow on a colorful mindset, seeing artistic liberties as an absolute necessity to take when confronting invention. Every invention, from the most luxurious hovercar to a simple kitchen appliance is seen as its own contained canvas upon which the absolute boundaries of the creator’s imagination must be pushed. This mindset usually boils down to “If something can not be beautiful, why make it?”
The Phoron Bulletin
The Phoron Bulletin is a rather new entry to Medina, having only been formed in early 2430. However, since then, it has been responsible for countless millions of offworlders seeking the planet’s booty.
This bulletin is essentially a bounty system established by the Elyran government for the sake of outsourcing massive workloads to external parties of all varieties. These workloads include but are not limited to phoron location and extraction, and is a highly dangerous form of work. While forms of travel are granted by Elyran officials in the way of hover-barges and extraction vessels, the usual Bulletin hunter is found using their own ships or even daring to make expeditions on foot.
The craggy surface of Medina obscures the real rules of the bulletin. The areas outside of the floating cities are miniature free-for-alls, where individuals fight for phoron supplies and sites are hidden from view purposely. The Elyran government, while aware of this, is blatantly unable to do much about it - seeing as a worldwide sweep for phoron is enough effort on its own, sourcing it to the shady external parties doesn’t seem so bad when they get their phoron anyway.
Life on Medina
The floating cities of Medina generally contain a healthy variety of people from all walks of life. While there is no major distinction between offworlders and people born planetside, the lifestyles may vary tremendously.
The majority of offworlders coming to Medina seek one of two things ; the Phoron Bulletin’s bounties, or the wonders of the Medinean industry. Natives, on the other hand, tend to be born to middle-class families on the galactic scheme of things - the quality of life is comfortable for almost all natives. The dangers of the Bulletin are apparent to them, and thus natives tend to avoid this.
The industrial niche that Medina fills in being able to manufacture a wide variety of local goods leads to a fantastic economy in the modern age. As such, natives find themselves on equal footing financially with preconceptions of a divide between rich and poor being sometimes just lost to them.
Offworlders seeking the Phoron Bulletin are often surprised by the cutthroat nature of other phoron bounty hunters. Others who hear stories of how things work come prepared, knowing full well that the next deposit may spell disaster in a skirmish with other hunters.
Environment
Planetside, the environment of Medina is highly unpredictable. The extent of the earthquakes and tremors which perpetually plague the planet make any sort of stationary settlement impossible to sustain. As well, travel by ground is incredibly dangerous, and every form of traffic is in some way aerial in nature. Even the native wildlife has long adapted to the nature of the planet, with only birds of prey and small flying creatures being the extent of notable fauna found. Stationary flora has proven to be nonexistent.