by M. D. Cooper
Ganymede – This moon is the third of the Galilean moons from Jupiter and is the largest and most dense moon in the Sol system. Because of the tidal stresses caused by being so close to Jupiter the moon also has a molten core.
In 2633 the orbit of Ganymede was altered to move it out of contact with Jupiter’s magnetic fields and in 2639 terraforming of the moon began. Ganymede’s surface is an ice/rock layer 200km thick. Beneath that is a water ocean that fills much of the moon’s interior. By using the mass of Kuiper belt objects an earthen surface was created and an orbital ring was built to funnel energy to heat
High Terra – As the second planetary ring ever created (completed in 2519), High Terra is more elegant than the M1R, though Earth’s planetary ring has slightly less habitable space than its Marsian counterpart. The ring also houses the city of Raleigh which is the capital of both Earth and the Terran hegemony.
Kapteyn’s Star – This star is 12.8 light-years from Sol and has the second highest relative motion to Sol of all the stars in the human sphere. Kapteyn’s is estimated to be over ten billion years old and was formed in a dwarf galaxy outside the Milky Way. Unlike most stars it has a polar orbit around the galactic core and also orbits the galaxy retrograde. It spends most of its time above or below the disk of the galaxy.
Because of its age, Kapteyn’s has fewer heavy elements and has a more bluish tint than most red dwarfs. It also has 32% of Sol’s mass and 7% of its luminosity.
LHS 1565 / GJ 1061 – Named “Estrella de la Muerte” by the crew of the Intrepid as it passed through the system, this star is a small red dwarf 12 light-years from Sol. With a diameter not much larger than Jupiter’s, it has roughly 11% the mass of Sol and 1% its luminosity. No significant planetary objects exist in the system, which only possesses a few asteroid belts.
InnerSol – This is the common name for the both the region of the inner solar system as well as the political groups that comprise that region. The boundary for InnerSol is nominally the main asteroid belt, but this is somewhat nebulous because some worlds within the belt are considered part of InnerSol (such as Ceres) while other sections, such as the Trojan asteroids are part of the Jovian Combine and thus in OuterSol.
Jovian Combine – The JC encapsulates all worlds in OuterSol—most notably Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and all their satellites. After the construction of the Cho, Jovian space began an upward rise toward not only housing the majority of all the humans in the galaxy, but also becoming the center or commerce and culture. In the year 4123, InnerSol and the Terran dominated SolGov was facing a regional government that was effectively more powerful than the federal government.
Jupiter – In 2644, a process of heating up Jupiter was initiated. Targeted impacts of KBOs (Kuiper belt objects) were made to cause pressure waves in hydrogen clouds. These waves were used to trigger fusion of deuterium rich layers of Jupiter. This process has been refined over the years and now the system is regulated by accumulating and igniting pools of Helium3 within Jupiter.
This process has not made Jupiter a brown dwarf, or a star of any kind, it is just a much hotter planet, providing energy for the worlds nearby.
LHS 1565 – This star is a red dwarf 12 light years from Sol. The Intrepid will pass through this system to gather isotopes streaming from the star for fuel.
Mars Inner Shipyards (MIS) – After the MCEE was constructed, which made it possible to dock at a station further out from Mars and have materials transported down the gravity well, the Mars Inner Shipyards were constructed. Because high-tech manufacturing was occurring on the M1R as well, it became a better location for shipbuilding than the MOS and through the latter half of the fourth millennia and beginning of the fifth it overtook the MOS as InnerSol’s premier shipyard.
Mars 1 Ring (M1R or MIR) – The first planetary ring saw its construction begin in the year 2215 and through a massive effort was completed in 2391. The ring is just over 1600 kilometers wide and wraps around Mars at the planet’s geosynchronous orbital point making it 128,400 kilometers long.
The ring is not flat like a natural ring (such as Saturn’s) but faces the planet. It does not orbit at a speed to match the surface of Mars, but rotates at a slower speed to provide exactly 1g of gravity on the inside surface. Walls over 100 kilometers high line the inside of the ring and hold in atmosphere. The total surface area of the ring is 205 million kilometers. This is half the surface area of Earth and 72% more area than Earth’s landmass. Considering that M1R has hundreds of levels it contains more than 100 times the surface area of planet Earth.
The completion of M1R definitively proved that mankind’s future home was in space and not on the surface of worlds. In the year 4123 the population of the M1R had reached over seven hundred billion people.
Mars Protectorate – is the name for the political entity that encapsulates Mars, its moons, the Mars 1 Ring, and several asteroids in the main asteroid belt.
MCEE – The Mars Central Elevator Exchange is a secondary orbital ring around the planet Mars which connects all of the outer habitats and shipyards to the Mars 1 Ring (M1R). Because of the need to keep gravity under 1g, all habitats and shipyards connected to the M1R must orbit Mars at a slower speed than the main ring. As a result they must connect to it via elevators which can move along the surface of the MCEE. Maglev elevators can then travel from locations such as the Mars Outer Shipyards to the M1R without requiring passengers or cargo to transfer to other transports.
Mars Outer Shipyards (MOS) – This shipyard was once the premier shipyard in all of the Sol system. Built in 3229, the shipyard’s main structure is over 1000 kilometers in length with thousands of cubic kilometers of equipment and detached service yards surrounding it. The shipyard’s pre-eminence faded as the conditions which made the MIS more economical improved. In 4123, it was still one of the busiest shipyards in the Sol system, but until it won the Intrepid’s contract it had not done a high-profile build in decades.
New Eden – Known on charts as 82 Eridani, this stellar system was terraformed by the FGT in the late forty-first and early forty-second centuries. The stellar primary is a Sol-like star with two Earth-like planets in orbit.
OuterSol – The region of space between the main asteroid belt and the inside of the main Kuiper belt—though this has shifted as political entities shift.
Pluto – Once a planet in the outer Sol system, the Scattered Worlds sold Pluto to the Jovians in the early fifth millennia. At the time of the Intrepid’s construction, the Jovians had merged it with other mass and terraformed it.
Sol – The name of the star which in antiquity was simply referred to as ‘the sun’. Because humans call the star that lights up their daytime sky ‘the sun’ in every system it became common practice to refer to Sol by its proper name.
Sol system – The Sol system used to be referred to as the solar system. However, as humans began to first think about, and then actually colonize other stellar systems it became obvious that the term was very Sol-centric. The common usage became to call the systems simply by the name of the star. For example: Tau Ceti system, Alpha Centauri system, etc… Because humankind’s home star is named Sol, the term Sol system came into use.
Scattered Worlds – is a political entity that contains many of the trans-Neptunian worlds. Its nominal inner border is the main Kuiper belt and its outer border is the Hills Oort cloud. The capital of the Scattered Worlds is Makemake.
Terra – This is the Latin name for the Earth and (though there are some exceptions) is not commonly used to refer to the planet. However, it is often used to refer to Earth, High Terra and Luna (as well as the assorted nations within the Terran sphere of influence).
Terran Hegemony – The official name for the InnerSol worlds either directly governed by Terra or existing well within its geo-political influence. Notable worlds in the Terran Hegemony are Venus and Mercury.
Toro (1685 Toro) – Toro is an asteroid that has a resonant 5:8 orbit with Earth and a 5:13 resonant orbit with Venus. This m
eans for every 5 of Earth’s orbits and every 8 of Toro’s, it orbits Sol in resonance with the Earth. During that period it appears as though Toro orbits the Earth. It also makes for cost effective cargo transfer to Toro during that period. Toro, like Cruithne, also is a useful slingshot accelerator for cargo being sent to OuterSol.
The original asteroid was roughly 3 kilometers in diameter, but subsequent construction expanded it irregularly by several more kilometers. It was made famous by what has been termed ‘The Massacre of Toro’, an event in which Tanis Richards played a key role.
PEOPLE
Intrepid and Mars Outer Shipyard
Abby Redding – Engineer and responsible for building the Intrepid.
Amanda – One of the two human AI interfaces for the Intrepid.
Amy Lee – MCSF First Lieutenant responsible for dockside security.
Angharad – TBI Security AI on Cruithne.
Angela – A military intelligence sentient AI embedded with Tanis.
Arsenal – Captain of the TSS Arcturus.
Bob – Bob is the name Amanda gave to the Intrepid’s primary AI after she was installed as its human avatar. She chose the name because she claims it suits him, though only she and Priscilla understand why. Bob is perhaps the most advanced AI ever created. He is the child of seventeen very unique and well regarded AIs. He also has portions of his neural network reflecting the minds of the Reddings. He is the first AI to be multi-nodal and to have each of those nodes be as powerful as the largest NSAI and remain sane and cogent.
Brandt – Commander of the Intrepid’s First Marine Battalion, Bravo Company.
Caspen – Lieutenant in the Mars Security Force assigned to the Intrepid to handle network security.
Collins – First lieutenant in the GSS acquisitions department.
Clyde – Captain with the Cruithne Police Force.
Earnest Redding – Engineer responsible for much of the Intrepid’s design.
Hilda Orion – The Intrepid’s astronavigator.
Eric – Passenger on the Steel Dawn III.
Davidson – Sergeant in the MOS Security and liaison to the Intrepid.
Gren – Commander in the Marsian Space Force assigned as liaison to the Intrepid.
Jason Andrews – An old spacer who has completed several interstellar journeys. Captain of the GSS Intrepid.
Jessica Keller – An agent in the Terran Bureau of Investigations. Jessica was placed on the Intrepid by Myrrdan for reasons unknown.
John Cardid – A political dissident who took over the Toro asteroid and began extreme human experimentation and modification.
Joseph Evans – Commander in the TSF, pilot and CO of the Intrepid’s three fighter wings.
Mick Evans – First mate on the Intrepid.
Kris – Female assassin working with Trent on the Steel Dawn III.
Ouri – GSS Lieutenant, then commander, responsible for internal physical and net security on the Intrepid.
Patty – Passenger on the Steel Dawn III.
Peters – GSS lieutenant in the shipnet maintenance department.
Priscilla – One of the two human AI interfaces for the Intrepid.
Reynolds – PFC assigned to Tanis from an MSOT during operations on Pluto.
Dr. Rosenberg – Chief medical officer on the Intrepid.
Sorensen – Lieutenant assigned to Tanis from an MSOT during operations on Pluto.
Stevens – Mars Outer Shipyards Stationmaster.
Tanis Richards – Member of the TSF military intelligence and counterinsurgency branch holding the rank of Major.
Terrance Enfield – Financial backer for the GSS Intrepid.
Terry Chang – Head of the Lab and Forensics in the SOC.
Trent – Leader of group who attempted to blow up the Steel Dawn III.
Callisto and Cruithne
Adrienne – Dancer Tanis meets with on Cruithne.
Arlen Strang – CEO of the STR Consortium.
Grissom – General assigned as division commander on lower Callisto rings.
Herris Santos – Assassin and bounty hunter.
Hank – AI partnered with Jesse.
Jesse – Friend of Trist’s on Callisto.
Sandy Bristol – Informant on Callisto.
Simon – TSF Marine lieutenant CO of the 701st engineer corps.
Sue – AI partnered with Trist.
Trist – Thief turned informant and security consultant for Tanis’s SOC.
Yau – TSF Marine commander garrisoned on Callisto.
Marine Corps Security Forces Platoon (MCSF)
A full platoon under Lieutenant Forsythe was brought up from Mars 1 and used to augment dockside security. The platoon totals 39 Marines and we were introduced to the following men and women:
Squad 1
Fireteam 1 (one/one)
Ready – PFC Tannon
Team – Corporal Peters
Fire – PFC Argenaut
Assist – PFC Lauder
Squad 3
Fireteam 2 (three/two)
Ready – PFC Mendez
Squad 3 Leader – Sergeant Jared
Platoon Commander – First Lieutenant Forsythe
Marine Force Recon Orbital Drop Platoon (FROD)
At Tanis’s request, a special operations team was brought to the MOS to provide a direct action force. The full platoon is listed below though not all of the Marines may have been directly referenced in this novel.
4th Platoon, Bravo Company, 8th Battalion of the 242 Marine Regiment.
Squad 1
Squad leader – Sergeant Kowalski
Fireteam 1 (one/one)
Ready – PFC Lang
Ready – PFC Cheng (replacement for Lang on Callisto)
Team – Lance Corporal Jansen
Fire – PFC Cassar
Assist – PFC Murphy
Fireteam 2 (one/two)
Ready – PFC Weber
Team – Corporal Taylor
Fire – PFC Perez
Assist – PFC Koller
Tech – Lance Corporal Dvorak
Fireteam 3 (one/three)
Ready – PFC Jacobs
Team – Lance Corporal Becker
Fire – PFC Martins
Assist – PFC Larsen
Squad 2 (weapons squad)
Squad leader – Sergeant Green
Fireteam 1 (two/one)
Ready – PFC Arsen
Team – Corporal Salas
Fire – PFC Altair
Assist – PFC Reddy
Fireteam 2 (two/two)
Ready – PFC Meyer
Team – Lance Corporal Olsen
Fire – PFC Gruber (Heavy Weapons)
Assist – PFC Araya
Fireteam 3 (two/three)
Ready – PFC Popov
Team – Lance Corporal Chang
Fire – PFC Varga (Heavy Weapons)
Assist – PFC Walker
Squad 3
Squad leader – Sergeant Li
Fireteam 1 (three/one)
Ready – PFC Kwon
Team – Lance Corporal Mishra
Fire – PFC Pham
Assist – PFC Santos
Fireteam 2 (three/two)
Ready – PFC Berg
Team – Corporal Endo
Fire – PFC Romano
Assist – PFC Slater
Fireteam 3 (three/three)
Ready – PFC Jones
