Cascade

Cascade is a human Inner Colony located in the 36 Ophiuchi system, and one of the few colonies that survived the Human-Covenant War. The planet has a near-earthlike gravity and is rich in natural resources, though it has required centuries of terraforming via gengineered cyanobacteria and atmospheric processors.

History
While first settled in the late 24th century, Cascade's terraforming to its current state took over a century. Cascade has many traits that made it attractive for colonization and long-term investment; among these are its interstellar crossroads position and relative proximity to Sol, as well as natural resources abundant enough to justify export; the moons in particular are metal-rich and have been used to construct multiple stations in the local Lagrange points which serve ships passing through the system. First colonized during the Domus Diaspora, Cascade has managed to avoid large-scale conflict, though minor scuffles have occurred and crime is commonplace in the megacities. The colony only began to grow in importance following the settlement of the Centaurus-Scorpius-side Outer Colonies, and Cascade has since diversified its economy with many lesser but fast-growing industries, particularly in the terraforming and infrastructural fields. Many of these have become invaluable for the Phoenix Initiative in the post-war reclamation efforts.

Culture and society
Today, a large heavy industrial sector brings Cascade its wealth, with local terraforming and high-tech firms in particular being well-known. The original immigrants were attracted to the world both by the system's mineral riches and UEG immigration incentives; in addition, many were from already cramped Solar space habitats or the megacities of East and Southeast Asia, and the walled cities were an improvement to some. Others came from Mars, brought to the world by their jobs in a Martian terraforming company. Over time, the shared mission to create a habitable world has forged the Cascadians into one people, who generally take great pride in the local science and innovations. With many of Earth's "best and brightest" migrating there during the Domus Diaspora, Cascade has historically been known as a hotbed of Inner Colony exceptionalism. Cascade is also noted for its free trade ports with lax laws and regulations, intended to attract both visitors and commercial interests.

Heavy industry on Cascade and in the greater 36 Ophiuchi system has served colonization efforts further outward since the Pax Humana era, with colony ships and terraforming machinery constructed there used on worlds such as Jericho VII, Falaknuma, and Madrigal. Many Cascadian industries also have major investments on the nearby Inner Colony of Asphodel.

With so many other industrial colonies having been glassed, Cascade has only grown in importance in the post-Covenant War era. The Phoenix Initiative has invested large sums into the further development of Cascade in the post-war era, encouraging further immigration of technical and engineering experts from among Outer Colony diaspora populations, as well as commissioning several new arcologies to house the expanding population. This has made many of the cities into melting pots, though there is tension between the "native" Cascadians and the newcomers.

Physical characteristics
A rocky world slightly more massive than Earth, Cascade orbits in the habitable zone of Handan, the C component of the Guniibuu or 36 Ophiuchi triple star system. A dozen smaller outposts or minor colonies are located across the system's various bodies, including automated fuel harvesting operations at a local gas giant as well as a trafficked port facility in one of the major Lagrange points, serving as a slipspace stopover. A few minor colony sites are located around 36 Ophiuchi's A and B components as well, though no habitable worlds are present there. The system is strategically located along key slipspace routes, linking directly to colonies such as Ballast and Asphodel, along with being relatively proximate to New Carthage and the Solward termination point of the Primary Libra Route, though most of the colonies along it are now gone.

The planet has oceans of liquid water and a primitive anaerobic biome, similar to that of Earth before the Great Oxidation Event. While there was some initial debate as to the preservation of the native ecology, the pro-terraforming crowd won out, and humanity introduced genetically-engineered cyanobacteria to begin converting the atmosphere into a hospitable one. Not only is an oxygen atmosphere toxic to anaerobic bacteria, but the latter is also not very energetic, and so the the oxygen-breathing terraforming cyanobacteria have been outcompeting the native ecology for the past two centuries.

For much of its existence, Cascade has been a hostile environment with millions of people clustered into walled-off cities with a breathable atmosphere, and an oxygen-poor frontier covered with toxic bacterial slimes. As the population grows, the walled cities slowly expand, claiming new territory around them by building up new walls further out. Today, they already cover fairly large territories and have become rather comfortable, with even large landscaped parks for recreation. The actively-maintained atmosphere still doesn't reach very high up, and the taller skyscrapers break out it, requiring their upper floors to be pressurized; outside, anything above the 15th story or so requires a breathing apparatus. Because Cascade's atmosphere remains tenuous, stars can usually be seen even during the day.

Satellites
Cascade has two natural satellites. The larger, Windfall, is a massive body relatively similar to Ceres in its characteristics: a rocky world with a thick crust of ice and gravel. The smaller, Ochre, is likely a captured asteroid similar to Mars' moons, and orbits close to the planet at a rapid speed. Both of the moons have served as sources of raw materials for the system's space infrastructure, and Windfall in particular houses various industrial sites, being a major source of volatiles for local industrial purposes.

Locations

 * Kowloon
 * Lhopat
 * Mindoro
 * St. Malo
 * Volamon