The event leading to the formation of the Confederation of Independent Colonies, was an alien incursion on a distant colony, that forced the rest of the independents to join and form their own military to repulse these invaders. After 7 years of hard fighting, they were finally driven off. The gathering of independent colonies in the name of defense led to the formation of the Colonial government itself. In the history of Colonial Space, I mentioned this invasion, and required an illustration to show it...
Vapor Kine are a kind large, floating, invertibrate creature of unusual biology, about the size of an imperial mammoth. It is native to Mini Neptune type, small gas giants with rocky cores, and extremely high pressure of mostly-hydrogen atmosphere, but it's metabolism absorbs lithium-6 from the atmosphere and metabolizes it into tritium, which it excretes and eventually decays into helium-3. Although the creature is inoffensive and somewhat less intelligent than an Earth cow, the helium it produces has valuable uses, causing them to be herded in vast ranches in certain gas giant's dense atmospheres, tended by special robotic herders designed to withstand the gravity, pressure and temperatures they need to survive.
After dropping dozens of metallic jellyfish shaped oceanographic study stations onto the water world of Eirene. A sentient being on the world with a means of communicating directly with psionically talented species, stated that the foreign metals on the ships were putting toxins into the water. She offered a local lifeform that resembles an Earth jellyfish, but has a unique semi-organic crystal structure of a flexible, yet resiliant material. A unique and advanced material science, given to the Colonial scientists as an alternative to the toxic ships.
The Sea Nymph is a large (800' diameter dome top), the tentacles retract and extend within a certain temperature range, and only when immersed into appropriate level salinity of water
. The Colonial Academy of Science and the Colonial Bureau of Naval Intelligence has constructed this station/science ship as the first of it's kind using this new material, as is thus classified Top Secret. As an oceanographic ship it rides transglobal current that meanders across the planet, offering an opportunity to study the course, the lifeforms and geology on it's journey. Naval nautilus assault transports are ported as defenses for an otherwise vessel with heavy shields, gravity weapons and anti-missile/point defense only. 50% of the crew are scientists.
While it's not the Serengeti, though the animal life seems very similar to Earth counterparts - an antelope specie, a large rodent, something very similar to a rhinoceros, which only adds to the mystery. The Gaea system was declared banned from colonization until further notice by the Colonial Academy of Science. Any system where a sapient developing, non-starfaring species is found, it is declared off limits for colonization and resource exploitation; a kind of prime directive. Also systems with anomalies or mysteries, as the Gaea system is. All it's inner planets are missing, presumably dismantled and used as the material to construct a cloud of over 100 Oniell cylinders, each over 1,000 miles long, slightly more than 100 miles in diameter with millions of square miles of interior space. They aren't easily detectable however, seeming to be shielded from revealing power and operations of each cylinder. When these were found, it was expected to host billions of humanoid inhabitants. Which they do not. Our teams have only managed to enter one, and only allowed to send in probes to film the interior, however, each one appears to have a unique ecosphere, with a defined niche of lifeforms from simple to advanced and filling every niche in the food chain, from grazers to predators and scavengers. We believe these represent different epochs of time on the world of it's builders. Aside from knowing these were constructed 3800 years ago, we have yet to find out anything regarding the builders. Who are they? What happened to them? Why build the cylinders and not inhabit them? Too many questions...
This is Red Cliff House, of the Chacoan Ancestral Pueblo culture, on the desert planet of Chaco. They were brought here by the "sky people" from their home on Earth long ago. Around 100,000,000 now live in various communities across the planet, and keep in regular contact with the "sky people" alien humanoids, who led them here...
On Delphi II there exists an unincorporated city of pirates, smugglers, and a small mining and processing operation of alcubierrium (element 174), an exotic element that all FTL science is based - though it's completely illegal, unlicensed, and with some large bribes paid so the star system authorities look the other way. However, any attempt for major operations would be shut down.
A retired pirate captain is mayor of this off-the-books town, he calls New Tombstone. He once operated a fleet of pirate vessels whose crew called themselves "the Cowboys". Now outlaws operating in a system governed by a theocracy has been a difficult task. However, everyone knows that the planet is restricted, and that it's illegal to be there, but they seem to be getting away with it...
I needed at least one illustration for the picturesque Colonial capital of Vespa, which is from a planet with more water than Earth, but not a water world, perhaps about 80% surface oceans and small continents. It's the second most successful colony with a population of 420 million. Communities are widely spread out in mostly forested terrain, some mountains. This planet is Earthlike and in many ways a vacaction world for the wealthy, with regions of glorious beaches. This planet features weather control. With snows on the mountain tops, afternoon rains in coastal regions. While the Colonial Navy and Bureau of Naval Intelligence is based at New Dublin colony. The rest of the Colonial bureaucracy exists at Vespa.
Honestly, I haven't developed much on it yet. I'd say Vespa has natural resources as a food producer in mostly tropical/subtropical fruits and staples, rice perhaps, as well as botanical pharma industry. Vespa, the city of the same name as the planet is a city of bureaucrats, temples, fine dining and hotels, perhaps only a single casino, on it's outskirts. It's a cosmopolitan place. You'll notice the while there are skyscrapers, with large temples within, unlike Earth cities, the street grid with closely aligned buildings is not the civil engineering. Parks dominate, with more walkways, than actual streets, subways provide the most common public transporation to minimize street traffic. While Vespa's population changes with the changes of bureaucracies across the Confederation, the over all population is somewhat controlled at around 420 million inhanbitants. Because it's a world of small continents and archipelagos, separated by vast ocean, there is less landmass to inhabit. The entertainment industry has a major foothold with it's glorious beaches, picturesque tropical isles, fine dining, nature parks, etc. I'll probably get to the Vespa Mini Setting Guide sometime next year.
Since you've mentioned this setting also includes the Kaiden in space stuff, and the Kaiden setting history, does that mean the Kaiden horror setting took place on Earth or something as well?
Is magic a thing in this space horror setting, considering there was mention of an oni world that use "magitech" to keep the gravity bearable on it?
