Ash (De 0504) (world)
Ash (Deneb 0504)
Ash is a stellar antique. The world is at least ten billion years old, and most of its original atmosphere has leaked away. It is swept by powerful windstorms that strip away rock, dirt and ice, carving the local landscape into grotesque forms. The local climate is bitterly cold, and difficult to breathe without a mask. And yet the world had attracted a sizeable population of humans in antebellum times. The world possesses massive deposits of iron and copper, and large processing plants, smelters and foundries were constructed to convert the local ore into a useful form and make implements for export. Other industries were established in their wake, and Ash had a sizeable antebellum population despite severe local conditions. It still possesses the largest population of any Frontier world in Pretoria Subsector, a fact viewed as a liability by many in the Regency Safe. Wreckage from the Battle of Ashes is maintained in orbit as a gravesite and zero-gravity museum by the planetary government.