Nyx

Name	Nyx
Type	Red Dwarf Flare
Spectral	M1.7V
Mass	0.58 M☉
Diameter	0.69 D☉
Temperature	3'983 K
Luminosity	0.06 L☉
Distance from Earth	202.4 ly

Nyx is a red dwarf star on the very edge of colonized human space; a frontier system that has since become something of a ghost town. It holds the dubious distinction of containing the only known phoron-based gas giant, Erebus. This, and Yulcite, a now barren planet with evidence that it once housed an entire pre-spacefaring civilization, have allowed the system to maintain a small but consistent population of dedicated scientists.

History

The indentification of Erebus as a "Phoron Giant" made Nyx the focal point of a large speculative investment boom in the 2530s through 50s which drove a large number of colonists to the system in anticipation of an onwards colonization effort with Nyx as its origin. For a few decades, Nyx became a hotbed of both Trans-Stellar corporate interest and, due to its distance from the better-policed core of SolGov space, criminal activity.

Amidst the boom, surveyors on Yulcite unexpectedly discovered evidence of a completely unknown pre-spacefaring civilization, driving further frantic settlement by both legitimate research institutions, and rogue adventurers hoping to make a quick thaler on unauthorized "treasure hunts".

When the onward expansion efforts failed to materialize, in no small part due to the renewed focus on the far more accessible and system-dense Almach Rim, investment in Nyx soon dried up. With investors went the job opportunities, and slowly the system began to depopulate with the exception of xenoarchaeological teams, which were forced to become increasingly reliant on interstellar supplies.

Although Brinkburn and the moons of Erebus hosted a handful of protectorate colonies with nominal SolGov protection, the confederation presence in the system was relatively minimal even at the peak of the speculation boom. After a decade of withdrawn support, and Fleet assets wholly comitted elsewhere, the stage was set for Nyx to become one of the worst-hit systems in the Skathari Incursion, with relatively unopposed incursions completely wiping out entire colonies. The incursion plunged the system into years-long famine as local sources of food and essential goods were rendered inoperable, and supply and aid ships were either unwilling or unable to make the long and dangeorus journey, or were allocated to more populous regions, leaving the people of Nyx to fend for themselves in near apocalyptic conditions.

During the Incursion, a number of spacebourne anomalies manifested in the wake of skathari attacks on shipping, which have since become the subject of great scientific curiosity. Though their positioning and unpredictability have made intensive investigation difficult, one such anomaly appears fully stationary in the orbital path of Erebus, and is expected to intersect with the giant in late 2578, with yet unknown consequences.

Today, the isolated system is sparsely populated and slow to reach, with most of its population being those who survived the Incursion and lack any means to leave. NanoTrasen continues to operate a handful of facilities at part strength, owing only to the system's seemingly limitless supply of phoron for research purposes, and an ever-rotating array of xenoarchaeologists remain on Yulcite, and anomalists investigating the aftermath of the Incursion.

Inhabited Bodies

Moros Desolate Rock Scorched world Moros is tidally locked to Nyx with a dayside surface temperature of 980K, and is widely considered to be unremarkable. It is undergoing a slow orbital decay under the influence of Erebus, and is expected to be broken apart by tidal forces within the next 50 million years. It is home to a small number of speculative mining and geological survey facilities, most of which were left abandoned following the Incursion.

Brinkburn A Ringed Mars Dust world Brinkburn is small and dry, but its relatively mild temperature range facilitated low-cost terrestrial colonization efforts and supports most of the system's population. At its peak, the planet supported almost 150,000 people, though the collapse of the system's speculation bubble and Skathari Incursion have reduced this to barely 15,000. It is encircled by a dense ring system, which is theorized to be the debris of a broken primordial moon, which makes it relatively unsafe to enter or exit orbit - although the rings were heavily prospected regardless during the speculation boom.

Erebus The Phoron Giant Brown Dwarf Regarded for decades as an uninteresting substellar companion to Nyx and massing nearly 50 Jupiters, Erebus is a T-Class brown dwarf with a surface temperature of 965K, in an over 315 year orbit almost 40 AU from Nyx. The presence of unparalleled phoron deposits within and around Erebus in 2528 drove much of the activity in Nyx in the middle decades of the 26th century. With over 80 moons over 5km in diameter and hundreds smaller, Erebus was the system's hub of mining and corporate investment for many years.

Yulcite Xenoarcheological Hotbed Frozen World A would-be superearth near the outer edge of the habitable zone but lacking any meaningful atmosphere, Yulcite sports a surface gravity of 1.3G and an average day temperature of -30C. It has been a hotbed of xenoarchaeology for decades, following the discovery of the remnants of an extinct pre-spacefaring civilization, now over 8.3 million years dead. The circumstances of their extinction remain a matter of intense debate.

Euthenia
The Dark Giant
Ice Gas Giant
Euthenia is one of few planets still commonly called by it's original survey designation. Too cold, heavy, and distant from inhabited Nyx to be of much interest, some local ship owners still eke out a profit scooping its upper atmosphere for low grade fuel gas.

Artificial Satellites

NAS Crescent

The main hub for NanoTrasen in the Nyx system, in orbit of Erebus. Primarily a refinery, the Crescent processes and stores much of the products that outlying stations and local suppliers bring in. It is the largest still-operating refueling and supply station in the system, and serves as the main interstellar spaceport for the system.

NSS Exodus

A once highly profitable and state-of-the-art NanoTrasen research installation focused on the development of new applications for phoron. Following the collapse of the system's speculation bubble, the station has been run on an underfunded skeleton crew with many of its facilities showing severe signs of age.

In recent years the Exodus has secondarily hosted some of the anomalists investigating the "Erebus Path Anomaly", a stationary region of energy disruption that manifested in the gas giant's distant orbital path during the Incursion.

The Void Star

Orbiting in the dark between Yulcite and Euthenia, the origins of the Void Star are as unclear as who actually manages the place. Theories abound, ranging from corrupt corporate interests to organized crime; some more outlandish offerings even claiming the place has always been, like some kind of haunt. The Void Star was once best known as a casino and pleasure station, orbiting furtively at the edge of Brinkburn's rings with a protective entourage of hired small craft and sprinkled inside and out with garish neon signs, loud music, and housing the largest black market in the Precursor's Crypt.

Hit as hard economically as the rest of Nyx by recent struggles, the Void Star's offerings are now notably anemic, and many of its apartments and storefronts now lie empty, despite escaping the worst of the skathari due to its relative isolation.

Emerald Habitation

This low-grade habitation station once housed a significant portion of Erebus' mine workers. The facility was a jumbled set of mixed commercial and crowded residential modules, and was well trafficked, as its prices allowed lower income spacers the means to find their feet in Nyx; or at least a berth headed elsewhere.

During the earliest days of the Incursion, Emerald Habitation was rendered totally uninhabitable by skathari, and those fortunate enough to have survived the ordeal were relocated to Brinkburn.

Timeline

2522 - Nyx is identified as a potential colonization target for expansion further into the Precursor's Crypt.

2525 - After years of investor disinterest in the system, NanoTrasen purchases survey rights to the Erebus gas giant.

2528 - Erebus is identified as containing high proportions of phoron gas. NanoTrasen immediately invests heavily in infrastructure for the system.

2529 - Multiple major financial analytics algorithms identify Nyx as the hottest investment opportunity for the 2530s, predicting a massive colonial effort in the rimward direction in the coming decades. A massive speculative boom begins.

2536 - Xenoarchaeological remains are discovered on Yulcite.

2537 - Several major Trans-Stellar investors enter the system, including Aether Atmospherics and Xion Manufacturing.

2549 - Nyx's population reaches it's all-time peak and begins its gradual decline.

2550 - Multiple major financial analytics algorithms are audited for what media describe as "the self-fufilling prophecy problem". This is dismissed as a "gross oversimplification of how the economy operates" and no fault is found with the system, but confidence in Nyx begins to falter.

2555 - Disappointed with financial returns and lack of any progress on onward expansion, Aether Atmospherics withdraws investment from the system.

2557 - Xion Manufacturing cuts budget allocations to the system. NanoTrasen follows the following quarter.

2563 - The Skathari Incursion begins. The Emerald Habitation is destroyed. SolGov fails to mount any support or provide meaningful aid.

2564 - Losing much of its domestic food supply and recieving no support, Nyx enters a period of famine.

2567 - First official government aid shipment reaches Nyx. Period of famine ends.

System Maps