Minotaur (Star Frontiers)

Minotaur is a planetary monarchy in the Theseus star system and most recent member of the United Planetary Federation. Minotaur is a highly industrial planet at the edge of known space with vast industrial parks and thousands of largely abandoned mining tunnel networks connecting to the already existing cavern network below the surface.
==Name==
Minotaur was colonized by the Pandemos, one of the generational colony ships sent from Old Earth. The name Minotaur was announced by the ship's captain upon entering the system where he stated; "As Theseus defeated the Minotaur, so shall we conquer this world."
==History==
Minotaur in it's early history practiced a 'Miner's Draft' that sent hundreds below the planet to mine for the construction of the planet's cities and production of goods. The planet's executive council lost favor from this and a man named Kalen lost his closest kin and friends to this lot- as few of those drafted returned from the mines. Kalen lead a revolt against the council, organizing the distraught and broken to take the reigns of government. Keeping power centralized to prevent the various factions from falling apart Kalen became the first King of Minotaur. Kalen is fondly remembered by the people of Minotaur, his various campaigns of reform are considered a blessing. A monument to his deeds stands in the capital with symbolic imagery; depicting the executive council as a Hydra, the State Mines as a Minotaur (of which the planet is named after), and the underground deathmatch industry as a crazed bloodshot eyed cyclops.
==Sports==
Minotaur had some rather violent sports before Kalen's rule, and indeed even the law cannot prevent them all from happening- but can charge those caught organizing such events. Of the legal sports on Minotaur the most popular is Maze Running which started out as a challenge among the street folk who would set up such events in the abandoned Mines. The modern sport has evolved from it's casual beginnings into a very defined and televised global event with formalized rules. The local love for maze running derives from the risk and escape offered by the old abandoned mines and the various creative ways locals had spiced up the events before they where formalized. They still feel thrilled by it even today. Minotaur Maze Running involves a stadium view overlooking a maze with four teams of three starting in each of the four corners of the maze. The maze has an equal number of challenges and traps littered about it with the center of the maze holding the Mulegen Cup- the first team to get at least one person to the cup wins. But there is a catch- a 'Monster' is loose in the maze. This robot is armed with two 'Horns' (Stunsticks) and two 'Fists' (Stun Gauntlets) it uses to take down the Maze Runners. The Maze Runners have no weapons at the start but can find a Medalleon which will ward off the Monster once only. There are four of these in the maze. When the 'Monster' takes out a Maze Runner it carries them back to the center where it dumps them into the 'Pit' removing them from the game. If they recover before such happens they might escape but the robotic tentacle (Binding Rope) makes such a challenge. Before all this was defined the Monster was portrayed by someone else back when this sport was done in the abandoned mines and the fate was not always pleasant. The Pit of today's sport is a drop into a low gravity chamber where the 'victims' can be lowered safely to the ground.
Category:Star Frontiers