Athena
A frontier world larger than Earth. Predominantly jungle and dense rock. Unusual magnetic forces. A mine that predates the colony by an unknown period sits at the centre of everything.
Physical Profile
Athena is a terrestrial world larger than Earth. Predominantly jungle terrain and dense geological formations — alien in composition, difficult to navigate, with limited reliable instrumentation due to a planetary magnetic anomaly. The magnetic field is non-uniform: it affects compass bearings and standard sensor equipment throughout the planet. In areas of highest magnetic concentration, floating rock formations are present at altitude.
Surface features include tall mountain ranges, massive waterfall systems, and deep river networks cutting through dense jungle canopy. Visibility in forested terrain is severely limited. The environment provides extensive natural concealment to any party operating within it.
This applies equally to every party operating within it.
Colony
Founded approximately 2320. Population at time of USP arrival: hundreds of thousands. Construction is modular — the majority built outside the central colony structures. A bunker network drilled into the primary mountain connects North, East, West, and South sectors, providing consolidated infrastructure for docking, stores, food supply, and resource management.
Sections of the bunker network are complete and reinforced. Others remain under construction at story start.
The incomplete sections are operationally significant.
Colony status at USP arrival: functioning. Normal. The timeline from functioning to crisis is measured in days.
The Mine
An open-pit mine sits within the central colony perimeter. Its origins predate the colony by a period that has not been determined. Interior architecture has been described by personnel with direct access as resembling a geological formation fused with deliberate structural design — massive monolithic formations, scale that induces vertigo, an aesthetic that suggests purpose without providing explanation.
Full geological and structural survey of mine interior:
The mine is the origin point of the Athena Crystal. It is the reason the colony exists. It is the reason the war is here.
Primary Moon
Pallas. The full designation of the goddess is Pallas Athena — the planet and its moon together form the name. The moon is a significant presence in the planet's sky, and its current status is not what it was when the Caldera arrived.
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The mine predates the colony by an undetermined period. "Undetermined" is doing significant work in that sentence. The survey teams were not able to date the mine's origin using standard geological methods. The magnetic anomaly interfered with dating instruments. Whether the anomaly and the mine's origin are related has not been formally investigated. It has been noted.