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Mid Rim
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Hutt Space
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Cocytus System
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5,161 kilometres
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Dense atmosphere, sulpherous and smoggy. Oppressive heat, near constant acid raid.
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Rocky, cratered landscape, almost no living beings apart from small amounts of fungi, microbes and bacteria
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Prime Ironworks, Scholae Heavy Industries, Micro One, Angel's Crater
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None
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Species of the Dark Brotherhood
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Basic, various other languages common to the rest of the galaxy
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45,000 (est.)
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Scholae Palatinae
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Zepar is a moon orbiting Iblis under the dominion of Scholae Palatinae, residing in the Cocytus System.
History
Zepar had never been interesting to colonists and settlers. The near constant acid rain and oppressive heat deterred most, while the lack of most resources made a military or economic presence an unwarranted expense. It was only after the Cocytus system was ravaged by the Yuuzhan Vong, and the war to reclaim it, that the House decided that any and all resources should be taken over and exploited, to allow for the House to be able to maintain itself with metals and products.
The moon has no real fauna and flora of note, but has many forms of bacteria and microbes, which was one of the draws to development. Researchers had created a small domed area on the eastern equatorial plain, known as Micro One.
Zepar was chosen to be the center point for the heavy industries for the system, where huge civilian machines and prefabricated structures could be built. The House sought out several corporations in the realm of heavy industries, and two were chosen. One was bought by Scholae Palatinae, and renamed Scholae Heavy Industries, and another, Prime Ironworks, was a corporation formerly owned by a House member, Brent "Archangel" Ligur Victae.
A pair of temporary bio domes were positioned on the moon's surface, several kilometers apart. This bio domes would serve as the home bases for the respective corporations as they dug down and excavated their factory floors. Specialized large excavators and digging machines were brought in, making most of the work quicker than projected. Scholae Heavy Industries was finished first, though their facility was smaller than that of Prime Ironworks.
Physical Geography
Planetary
Zepar has no real geography of note, with most of its surface being made up of sulfurous black-gray rock, broken up by crevasses and mountains as one would find on a low atmosphere moon. However, it is what is under the surface which makes Zepar so lucrative and important.
The crust of the moon is crisscrossed with thousands upon thousands of metal ore veins, stretching almost into the mantle. Hundreds of millions of tons of metal ore lies under the surface, waiting for exploitation.
The only feature of importance on the surface of the moon is the crater known as Angel's Crater, which is discussed below.
Cities
There are no cities on the surface, due to the near constant acid rain. All the habitats are underground and are run by the corporations who use them to house their labor force. These habitats were hewn from the stone by Prime Ironworks' specialized digger droids, carving out sizable areas for employees to work. There are two major habitats, one for each corporation, as well as two major manufacturing facilities.
There is also two permanent bio dome, specially treated and protected against the acid rain. One serves as a research facility for microbiologists studying the interesting microbes and bacteria present on the moon while the other protects the space port at Angel's Crater.
Prime Habitat
Still smelling of fresh paint and cleansers, the Prime Habitat is the dormitories constructed to house the employees of Prime Ironworks in the corporation's large manufacturing facility near by. Known by its inhabitants as The Hab, the Prime Habitat is hive of activity, with almost 15,000 workers. As with the other 'cities' on the moon, the Prime Habitat is underground, and therefore has no room to sprawl, as any room used has to be excavated, shored up and made safe for travel.
The entire habitat follows the simple geometric shape of a hexagon, similar in style to a horizontal bee hive. The facility is comparised of three levels, with one central location known as the Hole, which is a tall atrium. The Hole is a massive structure of open air and enough space for thousands of workers to mingle, and enjoy themselves, in various bars, taverns, cinemas and the similar.
Around the Hole, twelve smaller hexagons connect to the center, two hexagons per side of the Hole. Each of these hexagons can hold up to 1,500 workers in good comfort. The 'walls' of the hexagon feature the quarters on three floors, and the interior of the hexagons being used for gathering places and entertainment locations. The second floor in each of the hexagons has the messhall, a huge hall used to feed the workers assigned to each hexagon.
The central hexagon also features the main elevator by which the raw materials and finished products move to and from the surface. The elevator system is almost identical to the one in the Scholae Heavy Industries facility, except that it is much larger.
Housing Facility SC-1
Colloquially known as Scholae Sector, the Housing Facility SC-1 is home to over 10,000 workers and employees of the Scholae Heavy Industries corporation. It's layout resembles that of a wheel, with a large rim of residence modules connected to a central entertainment and sustenance hub by twelve spokes. The main crafting and foundry floor is located below the 'wheel'.
The central hub serves as a gathering point for entire facility, and connects all the different sections to each other. The main shaft which connects the facility to the domed spaceport in Angel's Crater is located in the hub, which transports huge cargo from the foundries to the surface and raw materials back down.
The main transportation system is also located in the hub, serving to help workers get to their assigned posts or their quarters quickly and efficiently. A series of mono-rail style trams whisk workers back and forth along the spokes and around the rim, but all of these trams return to the hub.
The hub is the center of life in the Scholae Sector, with several large dining halls feeding the hungry workers thousands of meals a day, as well as a small ration of alcohol. The food is good quality, especially compared to that of the food given to workers located on other worlds. The main entertainment of the facility is also located here, with a small sports field ringed by a running track, as well as other diversions, such as a holonet theater which can hold over a thousand watchers.
The 'spokes' of the 'wheel' serve as connecting tunnels between the habitation modules and the central hub. The tram system runs through these tunnels, as well as many utilities and other systems. Also, these corridors are lined with store rooms and offices. The store rooms, stacked to the brim with foodstuffs and other materials for habitation, take up most of the areas between the spokes. The offices belong to the administration staff of the facility, as well as the General Manager.
The final pieces of this wheel are the habitation modules, located at the end of each of the spokes. The modules are self-contained, prefabricated structures, set into the rock. They are self-contained so that if there is a cave-in or gas leak somewhere, workers can evacuate to one of these modules and remain their for up to a month. The modules are fairly large, with enough room for a thousand workers, with twelve modules in total. Each worker has his or her own quarters, access to refresher facilities, and each module has a common court or square, where workers can gather and mingle.
Notable Landmarks
Angel's Crater
Angel's Crater is simply a two kilometer in diameter divot in the surface of Zepar, with an almost parabolic curve. Scientists have theorized that it was created when all the moons of Iblis were being formed, with all the asteroid and other matter in the area hitting one another. As a large moon, Zepar would've been hit numerous times. Angel's Crater is the only one to have stood up against the constant corrosion from the acid rain.
It is because of this resilience that it was chosen as the site for a temporary base for the Scholae Palatinae Corps, the Clan's fighter division. A prefabricated bio dome was set in place, at the very apex of the curve, and a small landing hangar and other structures were constructed. A flight from the Black Aces Squadron was stationed here on a three month tour, as they could practice their dog-fighting away from the more traveled routes in the system.
Near the end of their tour of duty, the flight, known by their nickname as the Angels, were completing one last sortie, when the Yuuzhan Vong began their attack on the system. Shielded from their scans and patrols by the girth of Zepar, they were able to remain undetected. Unsure of what to do next, the Flight Leader, Lieutenant Armand Decaur, led a recon mission of two fighters to inspect the attacking fleet. The two pilots only barely made it back and one of their TIE Defenders had to be scrapped.
Throughout the war, these three TIE Defenders flew over 300 sorties, gathering information on the fleet and relaying it back to the Scholae Palatinae War Council. Oftentimes their information was invaluable, allowing the Scholae Palatinae fleet to prepare for the attackers.
Once the Scholae Palatinae fleet retreated from the system towards Antei, the trio joined them, with the downed pilot and the ground crew following in a Lambda-class shuttle. They all received a hero's welcome in a grand ceremony on the main deck of the Victory-class Star Destroyer Excidium.
Realizing the strategic significance of this position, as well as the sudden influx of personnel to the moon to construct the two manufacturing plants, a full-time defensive fighter squadron was needed. With Ptolomea mostly useless after attacks from “The Cause” and Angelo Dante's subsequent bombing of the surface, the Black Aces Squadron needed a home. The marriage of the two circumstantial situations were almost destined.
A larger base was constructed, with one hangar specifically built for the squadron and its ground crew. Six massive space port hangars were also constructed, three around each of the two massive elevator/lifting devices which were used to drop raw materials down to the foundries and to draw the finished products up to the surface. Each of these hangars could handle a Gallofree Medium Transport with plenty of room for loading and unloading. The walls of each of the hangars could be adjusted to provide even more room, depending on the size and shape of the cargo.
Around this space port, as has happened all over the galaxy, a small merchant town has sprouted up. Serving both workers from the factories on leave and the transport crews, these merchants make a fair profit on their sales.
The space port also sports the main garrison for the moon, with the barracks of a company of Expeditionary Force troops located here. As it is the only way of getting in or out of the underground factories and cities, this weight of troops is acceptable, as they are expected to protect roughly 30,000 people.
Scholae Heavy Industries
The Scholae Heavy Industries manufacturing plant is located directly below their housing facility, SC-1, and is connected to it via the central hub, a feature which is present in both designs. The plant is also connected directly to the surface (as opposed to having to travel through the habitation area), via a kilometer deep shaft, through which raw materials and new equipment can be lowered.
The shaft, known as the Long Drop, descends from the hangar area in Angel's Crater all the way down to the bottom floor of the manufacturing plant. The shaft has grooves etched into the sides, similar to accurate slugthrowers have in their barrels known as rifling. This is not generally used, and the elevator slides straight down to the floor. However, if there is an accident or problem with the elevator, the elevator floor emits posts, which lock into these grooves and slows the progress of the elevator quickly. If the facility is under attack, these posts can be extended remotely, slowing or even halting attackers who are using the elevator.
The bottom floor of the Scholae Heavy Industries manufacturing plant is where the main foundries are located. There are in fact two foundries, splitting in a Y from the Long Drop. Here they melt the bars of metal which are transported from other planets and moons in the solar system, into huge vats of molten metal. These vats are then cleaned of impurities and are then cast, using the sand form method.
The casts are then transported down one of two corridors from their respective foundries by means of a series of conveyor belts. The first corridor is where the cast items are sent which do not need much finishing, or are parts to be sent to other locations. Examples of this would be girders for buildings, ship super structure parts, and the similar. The parts which follow this route will be removed from their casts, and cleaned by automated robots equipped with grinders and sandblasters. These parts typically leave the plant earlier, via the central hub elevator system.
The other corridors progress away from the hub, carrying the remaining casts along a long manufacturing floor. These casts are ones which can be used to create machines later in the factory, and are often major parts of construction droids or machines. The first stage, just after the corridors split, is to free the part from its cast, and begin finishing it, with similar robots in the other corridor, equipped with grinders and sandblasters. In this case, however, the parts are cleaned more carefully, and the process is completed by polishing.
These freshly polished parts progress onto the construction floor, where thousands of robotic arms assemble the huge jigsaws, which would become construction droids or large diggers. It is at the point when all of the assembling is complete, and the only two tasks left to be done are finishing the vehicles and droids, and quality testing them.
The assembled products are lifted up to the top floor of the manufacturing plant, by way of a similar elevator used in the central hub and the Long Drop. At this stage, interiors, electrics, lights and other accessories as requested by the client. This phase is also where paint is applied, as well as any markings and such. After a thorough testing period where every light and switch is tested, the complete vehicle or droid is hoisted up through the main hub, in full view of anyone in the SC-1 in the central hub. This was purposely designed into the entire facility to help maintain morale, by showing the work that the employees have completed so well.
Prime Ironworks
As the elevator to the surface transports both raw materials and finished products, the Ironworks manufacturing plant was designed to revolve around it. With the elevator going straight down into the ground, raw materials leave the elevator to one side, head down a wide hexagonal ring that finally ends at the other side of the elevator, loading finished products onto the elevator for the return trip.
Other than the obvious difference in structure and layout, the facility is almost identical to that of Scholae Heavy Industries.
Micro One
Positioned on one of the eastern equatorial plains, Micro One is a microbiologist's dream. A large bio dome, sitting almost in the center of a huge quagmire of acid and water, where specialist research facilities have been constructed to allow for microbiological studies.
A central cube-like building houses the majority of the laboratories and research computers with three smaller cubes in a triangle nearby. The central cube has ten laboratories, and a high-powered computer, able to work through the calculations and the projects that the biologists request.
The three smaller cubes actually sit above microbial pools, allowing scientists to examine the microbes and bacteria in the relative comfort of a laboratory setting. These cubes are connected to each other by tunnels, hematically sealed and secure, to prevent contamination if samples need to be moved from cube to cube. A larger tunnel connects the triangle of small cubes with the central cube.
Ten small rectangular buildings surround a large circular building throughout the rest of the dome. The large circular building is an atmospheric space port, allowing scientists access to the rest of the planet, as well as Angel's Crater. No space capable are allowed to land here, which means that there's almost no merchants in the area. One determined general store merchant serves the scientists and their assistants.
The small rectangular buildings are the scientists dormitories. The four biologists dorms are split into four suites, giving enough space for at least 16 biologists. One building is split into two suites, one for the Head Biologist, Doctor Albert Spangler, and other suite is for the six troopers assigned here from the Expeditionary Force. The five remaining buildings are twenty-man dormitories, set aside for the assistants of the biologists and maintenance workers. In total, almost 150 people can be housed here, over a thousand if necessary, but without real quarters.
Outlook
Political
Commander of the Garrison: Captain Kyrel Helphet
General Manager, Prime Ironworks: Varion Dofier
General Manager, Scholae Heavy Industries: Xelot Robec
Head Biologist, Micro One: Doctor Albert Spangler
As to be expected, the workers of each of the factories tends to be more loyal to their employer than they are to the House. The House has tried to keep their command of the area to a minimum, allowing the General Managers free reign in all expect defence. While the surface bio dome at Angel's Crater is strictly controlled by the House, almost no control is exerted below the surface.
Military
Small garrison of troops from Expeditionary Force, as well as quartet of TIE Defenders known as the Angels, is garrisoned here. The Angels, a flight from the Black Aces Squadron, was posted here during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, to harass the Vong while keeping safe. They operated out of a small bio dome in a crater now known as “Angel's Crater”.
Commerce
Imports:
- Raw ore
- Electronics
- Foodstuffs
Exports:
- Heavy Machinery
- Bacterial experiment data
- Prefabricated parts for bio domes, etc.