Umbra Ustulo

Umbra Ustulo, the shadow of the incinerator. The eye and maw of an angry god-daemon. Only the bravest, or most fool-hardy, visit such a system. Once a proper solar system with planets and moons, it now is home to far-flung rocky debris as through the millennia the red giant has grown and expanded, consuming everything in it's orbit. In but a few millennia it will run out of food and begin to devour itself, triggering a massive super nova.
Radioactivity in the system is dangerously high. Even the best ship shielding is stripped away in a matter of days. Any relative safety can be found in the shade of the scorched debris that hangs lifelessly in orbit, assuming one can be found large enough to shelter a craft. The largest, on the far outer reaches of the system, is the massive rock known as Aegis. Within it's shadow lies the only permanent novium mining and refinery station in the system: Brimstone Station.
Pirate activity is also high in the system, as the shadows of floating asteroid debris make perfect hiding spots for those on the run from the law. It is highly discouraged for ships to visit the system without some sort of armament to defend themselves. These raiders prefer to ambush novium transport ships on their way outbound, taking the precious resource for their own wealth.
In addition to miners and pirates, a scientist on Brimstone recently has discovered what he has termed 'Sky Tombs." Ancient burial sites of a forgotten civilization, there is an offer for adventurous crews to explore these tombs and bring back any information they can, as well any intact artefacts. But who knows what stalks their ancient corridors, what traps might be set in place to thwart tomb robbers, or what other unforeseen surprises might await?

Natural Resources

For now, the star serves as a primary source of novium for the whole of the Alpha Sector. A highly radioactive particle, mining and refining of novium is dangerous work. It is a by-product of late-stage red giants, and as the star accelerates towards super nova, the novium concentrations increase exponentially.
The mining process utilizes catcher drones to filter the particle from the solar winds that blast ever outward. After a few days of harvest, the drones return to Brimstone, where workers then extract storage tanks from the belly of the drones. These storage tanks are drained into the refinery, where through a series of dangerous quantum processing the novium is refined into rod-like bars for transport.
Every few cycles, transport ships arrive at Brimstone to offload the refined novium and ship it to various locations about the Alpha Sector. Novium is extremely useful in the maintenance and upkeep of many pretech systems in use around the Sector, as well as acting as a popular fuel additive for starships, allowing less fuel to be used for longer periods of time.

Alternative Name(s)

The Beast

Type

Solar System

Included Locations

• Brimstone Mining Station