Gamma Velorum - The Floating Cities

**Gamma Velorum (coll. Velorum)** is a cluster of floating cities in Haqani’s orbit. They developed from House Vela's attempt to establish a research base in the corrosive atmosphere of the planet. The four previous attempts, testing various newly developed materials, had failed miserably.

For the fifth attempt, the metallurgists of the Musaeum of Pharos took a completely new approach. In collaboration with the archaeology department of the university, xeno-archaeologists led expeditions into the many alien ruins of the planet. The alien materials had withstood the atmosphere for centuries. “Harvesting” materials from the old alien cities to build the research station and their air-filter systems was the key to success.

This has led to xeno-archaeology being the most important specialization of the Musaeum’s archaeology department. Until this day, expeditions into alien ruins produce material for the maintenance and expansion of the floating cities.

## Regor - The Central City

The original research base, launched in the year 2450 was called Regor after a star in the Vela system. At this time it was only used for research, and as such the structure was different. It didn't house as many serfs, with most of the noble quarters being on what is now The Trade Deck. The Core was used primarily for machinery, and The Viewers, as well as The Spire, were labs.

As it is the oldest city, Regor looks slightly more cobbled together than the rest of the floating cities, as it was added to and changed the most over time.

The floating research base couldn’t go too far from any major cities at launch, as it wasn’t self-sufficient and relied on constant shipments of food and other supplies. Most inhabitants were there on temporary research assignments.

Over the next couple hundred years, more platforms were added, mostly for food growth and housing, allowing the research base to be more self-sufficient, and as such it began to develop its own culture as people moved there permanently.

### Regor’s Structure Today

   Regor today has still the overall shape and structure, with four main areas easily identifiable. The use and function of these areas have changed since the days of the research base though.

#### The Trade Deck

The platform on top is known as the Trade Deck. Whilst this likely seems like a nicer place to live, it's where all the trade goes through, so it is mostly home to serfs as well as specifically the nobles in charge of any supplies going through the cities.

#### The Viewers

On the outside of the floatation devices one can find the Viewers. This is the area with all the views, and most real estate for expansion, thus where most of the nobles live. Huge windows also allows them to influence the overall look of the city by choosing their personalized decorations.

#### The Core

Inside the sphere of air bags is the Core. Most of the inner workings of the city, any food production occurs in here, very clustered cramped thus home to most of the serfs. The general layout is similar to the cave systems of the caves most cities are built in, in that it is a confusing mix of bridges and tunnels through cramped housing blocks with no natural light, and highly regulated and recycled atmosphere.

#### The Spire

Underneath the Airbags, where everything tapers down like a spike is the Spire. This area is mostly filled with administrative offices, as well as some shops near the top.

## The Scream

Contact was temporarily lost during The Scream, but before and with growing speed after contact had been re-established, the purpose of Regor was shifted to being more of an actual city. Most of the labs were renovated into noble housing and many of the serfs were moved from their previous homes into new ones inside the core. The urbanization also prompted the construction of more platforms to accommodate up-to-date technologies, as well as areas specifically to deal with the increasing amount of traffic surrounding the planet and the system in general.

## The First Departure

By the early 2800s, Regor had grown into a large network with its own sense of cultural identity, which in 2804 led to the First Departure, where two satellites detached and became their own colony. They are now known as **No Vel** and are currently geostationary above **Dumas mountain range**.

   There have since been many more departures, but due to some records from before the Scream have been recovered yet, not all satellites that struck out on their own survived. This lead to the occasional city literally falling from the sky and becoming another landmark for those attempting to navigate Haqani.

The glittering lights of the floating cities finally got them the collective name **Gamma Velorum**. They are now a popular tourist destination due to the views, with a resort satellite dedicated to catering entirely to tourists, and "the way the air tastes."

These newer cities are much more elegant in their design as the engineers of Pharos and the maintenance workers of Velorum have learned a lot about the alien materials.

All the individual cities can be moved and are connected with a series of bridges spanning from along the circumference of each satellite when they are in close proximity.

## Culture

Whilst the overarching meritocracy of Vela was still present here, scientific advancement is favored over anything else by the nobles and even the serfs of Gamma Velorum, with many innovative logistical and agricultural adaptations having their roots in some of the serf communities. In the Velan Ascendancy, living in Gamma Velorum is a privilege only available to high merit owners.

Whilst there is a lot of travel and people who regularly commute between the satellites, each has a unique identity, with accent and even dialect changing across all of them. There is a general perception that the further from Regor you go, the more "Pyxis-like" the people are. often the outermost satellites which aren't attached to the rest all the time attract people who are more free-spirited, with the exception of **Al Haram** the luxury city / resort.

Most of the satellites have a jokey sense of superiority over the others, but also tend to, as a group, distinguish themselves from the "cave dwellers," or sometimes the slightly more offensive "cave goblins" who live below in Haqani.

The food available is a mix of A.C.R.E. imports, the occasional shipment of native Haqani mushrooms, and those cultivated on Velorum. Gamma Velorum itself creates mainly food from genetically modified crops designed to survive in the thinner atmosphere.