Maad System

Template:Planetary-System The Maad system located on the north-western edge of the Hapan Rim Worlds in relative close proximity to the Terephon and Roqoo systems. It was discovered in 3462 during the Third Expansion Era, but not settled until 3966 during the Dark Age. The system is named for its purple-black protostar Maad, and is essentially a pocket inside the areas of the Transitory Mists known as Rivved Space. While close to the Hapan Spine, the system is only accessible at low sublight speeds through the hazardous passage known as the Throat. Due to the hazardous journey that must be undertaken to reach the system, coupled with the inhospitable conditions on its worlds, the Maad system has seen very few attempts at settlement and development in the centuries since its discovery.

Astrography

Located in Rivved Space of the Transitory Mists, the Maad system is sequestered in a pocket within the nebulous gasses and gravity wells. As a consequence of the density of the Mists in this area, no outside stars are visible in the Maad system. Transit to and from Maad is only possible at sublight through a long and narrow passage known as "the Throat," which runs from the system and the Hapan Spine trade route.

The system consists of the cold world known as Shedu Maad, and the twin gas giants Uluq and Qogo which are locked in mutual orbit. Hapan scientists have determined that a third gas giant was present in the system at some point, possibly locked in the same orbit as the other two, before becoming unstable. Upon its destruction, the former planet's gasses formed a deadly and vast field of ice monoliths - some the size of a moon - that remain an impediment to travel. Many of these fragments eventually drifted in to "the Throat," making travel to and from the system both unpredictable and hazardous.

Maad itself is a protostar so deeply purple that it is almost black. Consequently, Hapans considered the system to be virtually uninhabitable due to lack of natural light, describing extended stays as uncomfortable due to the species' lack of nightvision. Furthermore, none of the worlds have a suitable atmosphere for ordinary settlement, and they are vaguely bathed in a dim purple light from the star.