(Select) Worlds of Khulikhu Subsector (L)
Thaist (Verge 3028) - C000100-D - As Lo Va
Located on the main that dominates the subsector and runs deep into adjacent Ilelish Sector, Thaist is little more than a rest stop. Sharing the system with another belt, two gas giants, a sullen red dwarf companion star lurking in an outer orbit, and a bare handful of rocky worlds, Thaist Belt, sitting beyond the gas giants far in the outer zone, is chaotic, sparse, and largely played out. The belt does retain a high percentage of icy bodies, making fuel acquisition relatively simple, but the economic fortunes of the system are bleak. The inner belt, occupying the habitable zone of the central star, has been ground to gravel over the millennia, while the modest collection of moons and rocky planets are airless and unremarkable. Thaist Port is maintained by the Imperial SPA due to its location along the main, while a thin collection of belters, scientists, and seekers of isolation reside within easy reach of the Port in carefully crafted asteroid homes and artificial stations. The Belt has been settled in some fashion for a long time, and rumors of old and abandoned installations farther from the Port are common.
Phen (Verge 2924) - B578787-A - Ag Pi Tz
Tidally locked to its star, Phen has an incredibly hot dayside, a chilly but manageable nightside, and a thin strip between them of perpetually windy ocean and land. Originally settled with aquaculture and deep ice research in mind, Phen has developed over thousands of years into a broadly quirky society. Hot winds from dayside keep the nightside from completely freezing over, and the starport occupies an area of scoured nightside bedrock near the terminator as a result. Aquaculture thrives in the mineral rich open waters of the terminator zone, while the near nightside lands and ice-covered waters support a variety of imported cold-tolerant life.
Perhaps regarding the world as a challenge, early settlers chose to create most of their cities under the dayside, making use of the free solar power to built to their needs. The cities are connected by subsurface rail lines to each other and to more hospitable areas. All cities also have deep vaults and are designed as natural cooling systems, should technology fail.
Elian (Verge 2726) - B787545-9 - Ga Ni Ag Pr
A warm world with a large hydrosphere, Elian's land and sea are teeming with life, much of it native to the world. Several of the native plants and animals have proven Human compatible and amenable to domestication, and the world has been fertile for the many millions of years needed to be a source for complex hydrocarbons such as petrochemicals. The active tectonic history has also created regions rich in precious gems, rare minerals, and economically useful ore. Lanthanum is present, though not in unusual quantities.
Inan (Verge 2627) - X87A632-5 - Wa Ni Fo
Scattered islands hold a modest population of Imperial descendants, but persistent evidence of an undiscovered native sophont race has led the Scout Service to interdict the world to protect it. The future of the human inhabitants is in some doubt, but as they have already been in residence for a thousand years or more, they do not appear worried.
The interdiction has shut down the port, and outsiders are allowed to land at local communities only under Imperial Permit. So far, the permits are stringent in their limitations but not impossible to get.
Local Scout Service authorities are planning a deep survey of the world in the next year or two to settle the question. The local human population, normally self-sufficient, has barely noticed the difference.
