Nightfall

Nightfall
Type: Rocky Moon
Primary Star: F2V (Yellow-White Dwarf)
Secondary Star: F4V (Yellow-White Dwarf)
Satellite Of: Eclipse (1 Jovian Masses)
Gravity: .4 g
Diameter: 5463.24 km
Atmospheric Pressure: .52 atm
Atmospheric Composition: 81% hydrogen, 19% methane, trace other gases
Surface Temperature (Mean): 25 C
Day Length: 21 Hours
Orbital Period: 12 Days
Gate Access: Fissure Gate, Volcanoid Gate
Notes: High Population of System Bodies, Impressive Natural Terrain, Active Volcanoes
Rocky moon of a hot jupiter in the inner system of a populated, moderately aged binary system, Nightfall's "mean" temperature is a misnomer, this arid, volcanic moon is blisteringly cold on its night side or in the shadow of it's planet (~-95 C), and swelteringly hot during the day (~45 C). It's host system has a large number of system bodies, making many groups interested in exploring it's other planets, but this massive moon is bathed in hot solar radiation due to lack of a magnetic field and protective gases in the atmosphere. People report it as being "washed out" in bright yellowish-orange light. It takes 12 days to rotate around Eclipse, putting it in complete darkness for extended periods. It's atmosphere is non-toxic, but highly volatile, which concerns long-term resource development, combined with regular volcanic activity. Nightfall, however, does have a decent amount of Iron and Silicates. Most problematic, however, is that there is a conflict between TerraGenesis and various autonomist interests. Nightfall was found by first by the Inner System corp, who immediately began an interest in settling the planet as a mining community. Within the following 3 months, however, a group of brinkers out of Fissure discovered the world, and believed it to be an ideal place to set up a Synth-friendly colony. This has led to claim disputes - Fissure makes no claims of ownership and demands sharing, while Vulcanoid has very careful procedures to determine ownership. While TerraGenesis scientists have worked with anarchists in the past, the explorers and isolates interested in synth living question what they see as a "resource grab". To settle this, a small Extropian corp was founded to handle Gate Security, territory disputes, and "communal" services, called Harceleur. They constitute what counts as the "law" on Nightfall, and go between the TerraGenesis backed mining colony (mostly automated) called Afvoer, and the brinker/autonomist settlement Malebolge. The gate complex itself is a small bridge city called "First Light", connected to the small notch in a canyon wall where the Pandora Gate lies. Rumors persist that before Harceleur was established and started bringing order that an extremophile exhuman clade managed to make it through the gate, and now hunt in the hills and dunes at night for wayward prospectors and surveyors.

First Light, Malebolge and Afvoer
Station Type: Bridge (First Light), Tin Can (Malebolge and Afvoer)
Allegiance: Independent (Hypercorp/Autonomist/Brinker)
Primary Languages: English, French, Dutch
Population: 7,500 (total)
First Light is the name of the largest settlement on Nightfall, built by a co-op of Extropian corps through a combination of Venusian and Mutualist banks who supported the two parties of Nightfall. A low, slim bridge similar to habs on Mars, First light bridges from a shallow canyon wall where the Gate existed in a small niche carved by wind to the far side. Several exploratory tunnels have also been dug in either canyon side. The top layer of the bridge is coated in intense mirroring and shielding materials to keep out the extreme heat and solar radiation of Eclipse's twin suns, Chariot A and Chariot B. This also provides power to the station during Nightfall's day cycles. First Light is visible from quite a distance off during both the day and night, as it has extensive flood lighting systems around it. Power is provided by nuclear materials, or geothermal generation. Under the bridge is a souk of ramshackle and prefab buildings, mostly inhabited by those who can tolerate the harsh conditions of Nightfall. The bridge itself has a modest population, roughly half of whom are contractors related to Harceleur, the Extropian corp who acts peacekeepers and mediators on the colony. Harceleur is the security, law and basic hab service provider for First Light and manages contracts with several other extropian businesses who have set up shop in First Light, though many of those have mutualist or utilitarian bents. The local Autonomists tend to call this combined bloc of settlers "vultures", and many feel the violate the policies of the Fissure Gate. The rest of the population is freelance gatecrashers, a handful of tourists and assorted associates of the vested parties on Nightfall. Access to the other settlements is done via canyon hugging maglev lines - and attempts to sabotage either line is handled harshly by Harceleur. Harceleur also has marshals, who get clad in fireproofed, sealed armor and thermal cloaks and patrol the surface for problems or to help wayward travelers in air cars or buggies. On the canyon rim are the first foundations for what will eventually be a spaceport ready to explore the orbit of Eclipse and even probe the rest of this system.

Afvoer ("Watering Hole" in Dutch) is the earlier "settlement" of Nightfall, up the canyon run and into the foothills of a now extinct volcano chain. Mostly automated, this is a small cluster of tin can and dome modules over racks for mining drones which have begun sinking shafts to obtain valuable elements. Population is a lot of infomorphs working Morningstar-style indenture contracts for TerraGenesis and a handful of technician overseers, usually sleeved in Ruster or Alpiner variants so they can survive outside in just breath-masks for short periods. Not much goes on here, though for a research and mining platform, everyone is unusually heavily armed, as several Anarchists have tried to slip up to the mine and sabotage it. Malbolge (from a circle of Hell which name translates to "evil pockets") is on the opposite end of the canyon as it trends more shallow, leading onto a plantia of rocky desert. It gets its name from the hellish conditions of Nightfall, and the fact that the settlement is mostly carved or dug into the surface in "pouches", some of which are covered over to offer more traditional habitation. Malbolge is mostly an autonomist/brinker settlement, where people are interested in an "honest" exoplanet living, mostly as Synths. They have some tension with First Light and Afvoer, but a lot of them prefer to be left alone, and they tend to shun violent anti-socials. Malbolge is a center for a lot of prospecting and surveying of Nightfall, where occasionally settlers go missing.

Nightgaunt Exhumans (Biomorph)
An interesting strain of the Predator clade, these Exhumans from the Saturnian or Uranian system have obtained a variant of the Ariel biomorph and customized it to be even more extreme. The end result is a pitch black, carapaced creature with wings, long bladed tails, horns and clawed limbs. They can survive hot and cold for extended periods. They came through the Fissure Gate and populated out on Nightfall before Harceleur came along. Now there are a few dozen scattered up in the mountains and deserts of the moon. They prefer "live" prey, but can still capture synthmorphs and process them for raw materials, and use their egos for amusement. They prefer to hunt at night, where the relative cold and dark makes prey easier to detect, and biomorphs slightly more common due to the lack of solar radiation. To this end, they will often hibernate through several "day" periods until the long night comes. Currently, Harceleur and First Light are unwilling to confirm "rumors" of hostile Exhumans in the colony.

Skills: Blades 60, Fray 60, Free Fall 50, Freerunning 80, Investigation 50, Perception 60, Unarmed Combat 70
Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Claws, Cortical Stack, Direction Sense, Enhanced Vision, Long-Term Life Support, Low Pressure Tolerance, Oxygen Reserve, Prehensile Feet, Radiation Sense, Temperature Tolerance (Cryonic), Wings, Adrenal Boost, Carapace Armor, Chameleon Skin, Endocrine Control, Enhanced Hearing, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Vision, Grip Pads, Hardened Skeleton, Medichines, Muscle Augmentation, Neurachem (Rating 2), Oxygen Reserve, Poison Gland, Prehensile Tail, Respirocytes, Toxin Filters, Hibernation
Notes: Flight (Movement Rate 8/40), Nonmammalian Biochemistry trait, Mental Disorder x2
Attacks: Claws 1d10+5 DV AP -1
Armor: 11/11