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BARD PAPER: OPAL8686 | Home | Traveller | BARD | OPAL |
Like its neighbor, Ushashin is also a water world orbiting a large gas giant. But unlike Third Mu, Ushashin is a much younger world, about a billion years in age. The eleventh moon of the gas giant Bodyanovsky, it has a normal rotation and orbital period, but it is pelted on a regular basis by planetismals that are still in abundance throughout the system. Most of these bodies are rather small, and pose little threat to the settlements that exist on the system. But they have also discouraged more settlement beyond a few mining camps operated by Sternmetal, which seems to prefer it that way.
The low O2 content in the atmosphere allows for more dissolved metals to exist in solution in the world-ocean, and much mining is done through solute concentration of seawater near undersea vents and rifts. The high sulfur and metal content of local seawater discourages the development of multicellular life, and the paucity of anything more developed than algae creates the impression of dead seas. O2 content is also very low in the local oceans, giving the world a blue-black appearance when viewed from orbit, with clouds standing out in stark contrast.
Ushashin is actually much richer than Third Mu, but Sternmetal long ago moved to protect its monopoly on exploiting the local mineral sources. A 199 year lease was signed in 1007 between the Duke of Deneb and the company, which gave it exclusive control of the world. That lease will expire in 1206-1207, and already some commercial concerns on Lilad have expressed a desire to compete against Sternmetal.