One man’s guide to a few bright spots in the verse
By Barton Trower1
I ain’t saying I been everywhere. Hell, I don’t even think I’ve set foot on half the planets of the ‘verse. But, evidently, I’ve seen a gorram sight more than a lot of folk have. At least, that’s what these publishers tell me. They’re paying me 100 credits to write up this here pamphlet. A hundred credits, just to plink out where I been. Hopefully, it ain’t costing you that much to read it.
Remember, this is just one man’s opinion. You want capital cities, weather reports and tourism information, go pick up a ruttin’ travel guide. This here’s just a handful of notes might just keep you out of a little trouble.
THE CORE:These were the first planets to be settled. A paradise, supposedly, but I wouldn’t know too much about that.Londinium: This planet is most like Earth-That-Was, or so they tell me. It’s a modern place, but it’s also very full of itself. Everything is all gothic and stoneylike. Seems like everyone on Londinium works for or services the government’s folk. While you’re there, you can always take a tour of Parliament buildings or the Londinium Museum. Don’t have much use for the place, myself.
Sihnon: Zen gone mad. The place is beautiful, but it’s all twangy and stuffy. Sihnon is the central hub for all the guilds though, so most legit folk have occasion to stop by here from time to time. Landing is pretty restricted, but creative types can usually find a way to hit planetside. And I hope you like red.
Ariel: Gleaming glass and steel. See-through billboards and great nightlife. The planet’s home to some of the best medical know how in the ‘verse, so it’s a handy place to be if you find yourself the wrong end of a gun. Like most all core worlds, landing is restricted to those with legit biz planetside.
Bernadette: This place houses one of the original arks that brought our forebears from Earth-That-Was. Because of that -- or not -- this place is often the leaping pad for those seeking life elsewhere in the ‘verse. Folk bound for the rim often get their start here.
Osiris: The long arm of the law lives on Osiris. The Alliance’s judicial branch is headquartered here. The planet is also home to one of the ‘verse’s most prestigious universities. The headquarters of the Blue Sun Corporation is also here, but don’t think you’re like to just waltz in; the place is locked up tighter than your mama’s jewelry box. That makes the whole planet a touch hard to set down on, but parents of university students are always welcome.
THE BORDER:Settled not long after the core world, these outer planets made life tougher on the terraformers. Still, as people’s need for space, food and rocks grew, the Alliance was quick to expand.Beaumonde: It’s one big city -- or at least one big factory. It’s the producingest planet in the cluster. That makes pollution a bit of a problem, though. New Dunsmuir, the capital city, is the one place planetside with no factories.
Bellerophon: I was only here once, and that was a long time ago, but I swear I saw a dog wipe his ass with a 20 credit note, s’how rich the place is. The whole planet is home to these floating palaces... no shops, no stores, nothing. I guess the rich folk just get it all brought in. Occasionally, the well to do will drop planetside for some dune hopping.
Boros: The planet itself ain’t bad; there’s a lot of prairie land and a good space to stretch your legs if you’re the type to stretch. More importantly, a good chunk of the planet houses scrap metal and old ship parts -- most can be had at a good price by the salvage companies that house there. Why so much scrap? I guess I didn’t mention that Iskellian Technology houses one of their biggest military shipyards on Ares, on of Boros’ moons.
Hera: The cluster’s breadbasket. It’s a good place for a fresh apple, and a valuable resource for the whole cluster. It also has the notoriety of being the site of the battle of Serenity Valley. I ain’t going to go into that here -- you wanna know more, chances are you already do, or got no business reading on.
Newhall: Even though it’s not out on the rim, Newhall is one of the newest planets to be terraformed. It’s primary industry is water -- yep, you heard me right. Most folk live on floating barges or small island chains.
Paquin: Carnies, sideshows, whores and gamblin’. This is the place to be, if you’re not the sort to have the little critters in tow. Sunsets here won’t soon be forgotten because of the unique atmo, and a lot of the ‘verse’s best artists and musicians got their start here. Heartily recommended for a spot to get away from it all in a seedy sort of way.
Persephone: Yeah, the planet’s supposed to be a lot like Earth-That-Was, but, truth: I ain’t seen none of it. The only place I ever stopped -- and the only place you’ll ever need to -- is the Eavesdown Docks. There’s those of about every way you could imagine make their homes here. Course, the aristocracy here is way overrated, but chances are, you won’t get invited to one of their fancy shindigs anyways.
Santo: One of the best examples of terraforming ever. The war was hell for the planet; seemed nobody from the core wanted to come out to the border for a vacation, and those out on the rim were too busy fightin’. Still, with the war long buried, the place is starting to recover. Not a bad spot to relax.
Verbena: Thick forests make this place rough for farming, but the locals don’t seem to mind. After U-day, the Alliance set up shop here big time, even built a few factories, until rogue Browncoats started bombing and terrorizing something fierce. Alliance still maintains a strong presence here, you know, just to make sure everyone’s safe.
THE RIM:The second star in the cluster hasn’t been home to too many for too long. Thus, you’ll see most out here are getting by with the most basic of necessities, although there are always exceptions.Athens: Word is, Athens was one of the few planets to support Unification. That made it a hot spot in the war, and most of the planet was glassed by one side or the other. There’s a lot to be had for salvage here, if you’re feeling ghoulish, and, of course, are licensed.
Beylix: The system’s garbage dump. There’s a heaping load of crap sitting about those rings. All of the scrap yards and trash centers are run by United Reclamation. Not a bad place to start anew -- you could probably find a great deal on an old ship, provided you can get her running.
Ezra: It used to be a peaceful place, but that was before the war. After the governor died, he was replaced by a patsy that just about everyone out of diapers walked all over. Not long after this, a businessman, fella by the name of Niska, set up a big skyplex in orbit.
Greenleaf: The place has a large tropical belt, home to a variety of life-saving plants and stuff that can be refined as high-tech, costly drugs. Course, all that rain forest is hard to protect, and there are more than a few that find a few clippings in their hold after leaving.
Haven: Mining world. Not much to say, really. The folks planetside are a mite paranoid, but nobody knows much of why. There’s a bit of money to be had out of the rock below, but a good number of the settlements boast old ground-to-air weapons, the like that could still put a big hole in the side of a ship.
Higgins’ Moon: I only been to this planet once, and it was just on a favor from a close friend. The whole place stinks to hell, and it’s full-to-ears of goopy mud. Believe it or not, there’s companies that make a fortune selling this to core folk. Why, I didn’t ask.
JianGyin: Boring place. Seen a few cattle ranches and forest, but not much else. It could be a good place to cool your heels, if it weren’t for the harsh folk that eschew most things civilized. These hill folk are mostly uneducated and superstitious -- I’d stay away if you know what’s good for you.
Lilac: Hot. Damn hot. About a decade ago, they promised that the place would be like perpetual spring, but it’s more akin to shovin’ your head in a pillowcase after eating a clove of garlic and breathin’ hard for a good quarter hour. It also seems to get hit by Reavers more often than the average place. Don’t rightly know why.
Regina: Most of the mines here (and there are a lot of ‘em) are run by the Corone Mining Consortium. It’d be a good place to eke out a living, if it weren’t for the mixture of the air and dust particles. The mix forms an awful malady called Bowden’s. While there ain’t much can cure it, Alliance send medicine pretty regular.
St. Albans: Nice place, if you like the feeling of your fine unmentionables frozen solid to your backside. It’s a whole heap of unpleasant, but that nasty chill keeps all but the most hearty folk away. People here tend to mine a lot, but what I really noticed is the sense of community. You make one mad (not that I did or anything) and the whole settlement’ll come after you faster than your spit can freeze to your cheek.
1This guide was written by an outside source for the purpose of RPG in the Firefly 'verse and can be found at www.fireflyrpg.com/rpg/maps.html
