Detailed info
One of the twin moons of Castra and the only celestial body in the vicinity that’s eligible to undergo immediate settling by oxygen breathing organisms, without the need for terraforming. That said, to call the grey moon Pale Hang “habitable” is a stretch, with its thin atmosphere affectionately dubbed by the inhabitants “Ye Olde Drapes” for a reason. It undergoes frequent “tears”, too thin and unstable to protect the moon’s dry outer layer from space hazards and rendering any surface liquid basin too irradiated for comfort. However, Pale Hang is lined with sporadic cracks and deep, narrow ravines, stretching deep into the core of the celestial body, core composed of iron and manganese oxides, as well as cobalt and lithium. This rare combination acts like a geobattery and effectively fills the ravines with either moisture and oxygen, or molten ionic liquids, creating pockets of life-friendly environment, some with its own indigenous protoflora or, well, less than habitable magma oceans.
Pale Hang is home to some Independent activity, mainly research with a side of shady deals. However, there are also some redeployment stations here that have been used by Taelith and Veltari to regroup during the journeys into the Line Worlds, ever since Veltari’s Ashwake Doctrine. This makes it an important checkpoint for Armada, as well as a viable target for sporadic all-out demolition by Cortex.
It is important to note that the Independent settlements of this moon haven’t been affected by the Ashwake Doctrine much, as it was designed as an opressive carpet bombardment, something rather irrelevant to locations starting over a kilometer below the ground level. This has made the Pale Hang an uncommon case of forced coexistence, and one stressful neighborhood.
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Imagery
Locations
Hades Ponds
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Feast of Hades
Theta Crystals
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