𝔻𝕌𝕊𝕋𝔼ℝ’𝕊 𝕆𝔻𝕐𝕊𝕊𝔼𝕐
It was the year 2405 and humans had terraformed much of the solar system. In their search for resources and extrasolar worlds to colonize, probes and expedition ships scoured the stars, funded by Tycho. A megacorporation based from Earth that dominates mining and trade in the Sol system. Word returned from the fringe of distant worlds ripe for colonization and human expansion and waves of colony, mining, and military vessels stampeded from Sol over the decades. Humanity had found it's new frontier and the race was on.
One such theatre of this new age of exploration is the Schon Cluster. A collection of dwarf stars, asteroid fields, and planetoids. There are only two inhabitable planets in the entire cluster, both of which are small and harsh worlds to live on. While mass colonization has been dissuaded prospectors, scientists, and mining corporations flock to Schon. Constructing drill platforms, mine complexes, and orbital stations.
Thirty years later, the Schon Cluster is perhaps one of the most frictional and contested regions in the Terran Federation. With Tycho having a total monopoly on Khione and it’s surrounding territories, prospectors, smaller companies, and merchant coalitions squabble over what’s left. The desert world of Dumah - the only other habitable world in the entire cluster - has become the new west of modern exploration and colonization.
ℙ𝕃𝕆𝕋
The year is 2435, and our tale centers on the desert frontier world of Dumah. As colonists and miners try to make a life on Dumah, they find that life on this planet isn’t easy to put it lightly. Resource shortages, severe sand storms, and hostile wildlife have always been a constant threat. Within the last decade the planet has begun to see a rise in crime.
Smugglers prowl the desert while raiders and mercenary bands harass the colonists and frontier settlements. Many merchants and land barons wage petty trade feuds and engage in claim jumping and hostile takeovers via threats and actions of violence. Between local rivalries and raider and smuggler bands, the Enforcers - a corporate funded security force stationed on Dumah - are spread thin.
This is where the Dusters come in. Dumah, even as isolated and desolate as it is, plays host to a multitude of characters. Bounty hunters, mercenaries, assassins, ex-military thugs - a plethora of diverse figures that roam the wasteland. They are no organization or firm, Dusters are merely drifters for sale. Gunhands that offer their services to an employer. The term “Duster” derives from them typically being wanders who travel the deserts alone or in small groups. They are typically native born to Dumah and most of them grew up on the frontier or small settlements. Dusters come in all shades of character, some are heartless contract killers and assassins, others are merely drifters who offer their protection to small settlements or innocent civilians. They are welcome by many and reviled by more.
You are a Duster. Be you Dumah-born or an immigrant. You ride the wastes on your horse or zoomer, your reasons your own. Loss of identity. Greed. A seeker of justice. A killer who searches for new prey. Who other than you can say?
Regardless of your personal affinity you will play a hand in the events of coming days. Times are changing on Dumah and in more ways than one. Tycho intends to tame the savage wastes of Dumah and subjugate it to their corporate whim as they have across the rest of the Federation. Dumah is far from Earth and it’s authorities and Tycho’s influence is widespread and deeply rooted across the colonies. And then there are the raider and smuggler threats that grow worse by the year. Not to mention the dangers of the harsh planet itself. In this gritty opera that is the shaping of Dumah - everyone must find a place.
𝕃𝕀𝔽𝔼 𝕆ℕ 𝔻𝕌𝕄𝔸ℍ
Half the size of Earth, Dumah is an unforgiving world of rolling sand dunes, deep winding canyons, and craggy mountain ranges and cliffs. It has little available water supply aside from scattered oasis's and springs hidden away in deep ravines and caverns. Deep wells are used to pump moisture from the bowels of the planet and supply the two major cities of New Anchorage and Silverwall. Even so this isn’t enough and water must be imported from off-world to sustain the two major settlements. Water caravans travel the wastes to frontier outposts and settlements. These are of course prime targets for raiders and as a result are usually heavily guarded.
Food is a similar situation. Most food is imported however a number of Earth crops can be carefully raised and cultivated in green houses and indoor garden complexes. Many Earth creatures such as cattle and poultry have been brought to Dumah to raise as livestock. Horses are also popular as transportation across the wastelands and between colonies. Dumah is home to little in regards of wildlife aside from various lizards and amphibians that live in caves and in the underground tunnels. While many are edible some are lethally poisonous. Rodents akin to rats are a common pest and frequent the smaller settlements and infrastructure. There are also a number of native cacti and fungi that grow in caves and on the base of cliffs that are edible and even palatable. Rumors persist of larger more dangerous alien creatures out in the wastes, and while none have been seen firsthand, scientists have unearthed some very unsettling fossils over the decades.
There are two major cities on Dumah, New Anchorage and Silverwall. New Anchorage is the site of the first outpost on Dumah. Today it is the planet’s major space port and trade hub with a teeming population of around fifteen thousand people. New Anchorage is a testament to the progress made on Dumah and offers much; commerce, food, entertainment, employment, security, and pleasures galore. Some of it’s notable structures and locations are Pohl Spaceport, Nourse Medical Research Center, the Tycho Commercial Center, and Hauzer Arms and Security.
The other major city is Silverwall located nearly a day’s trip west of New Anchorage. Silverwall is notably smaller with a population of around seven thousand. Silverwall is more of an industrial city with trade and commercialism falling second behind mining, refining, and manufacturing. The city was named for the deep cavernous mines just to the north that dive deep into the cliffs and are rich with silver. Kahlo Mining, the corporation that first funded Silverwall when it was merely an unnamed compound, has profited handsomely and developed Silverwall into a sizable and productive city. Most of the population work in the mines, refineries, and factories. A number of private farms and ranches nearby also offer employment and provide food directly to Silverwall.
Aside from these two major cities there are over a dozen small towns and outposts scattered across the wastes, their populations being anywhere from a hundred to just ten people. Most are mining compounds, trade posts, or farmland, with several up and coming towns as well. Most of these settlements are funded and managed by smaller companies and entrepreneurs based from Earth or other older colony worlds, what with major corporations like Tycho focusing on major cities. These isolated locations are more likely to draw in both outlaws and Dusters alike, what with major corporations and the Enforcers not looking favorably upon freelancers like the drifters of the wastes.
Life on Dumah is divided between the harsh and gritty frontier and the cold, uncertain environment of corporate metropolises. Everyone must find their place and keep their wits about them. Safety is limited even in the lap of luxury and tenderfeet don’t last long on Dumah.
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