Asteroids

Asteroids are celestial bodies found within the Weltan system. Most of these asteroids compose the Weltan Belt.

## Overview

Asteroids play a critical role in many aspects of Weltan ecology, and are vitally important to the Dalmer for many reasons. In terms of size, asteroids are generally smaller than realms and bigger than natural satellites.

### The weltian asteroid field

Welt is surrounded by a field of asteroids. As a result, some areas of the surface of Welt are constantly showered by asteroids.

### Why asteroids are so important to the Dalmer

In the wake of an energy crisis that rocked the Empire, the dalmer decided to become autonomous from energy found on Welt. This caused the economy ground to a halt due to the energy sources from asteroids being far too small to supply the Empire. This caused a mass expansion of tractor beam sites and skycaller holds all over Welt.

## Dalmer usage of asteroids

The dalmer use asteroids for many reasons.

### Satellites

*Main article: Satellites*

Satellites are asteroids that the Dalmer pull from space via tractor beam sites, modify them with their technology for a certain function, and then send back into space to orbit the planet.

The Dalmer use asteroids as satellites, they are able to pull them from orbit using Skycaller Holds and tractor beam sites. These sites are used to pull asteroids from space to the planet where they are modified for a certain function then sent back to orbit.

After the skycaller incident, passing asteroids are pulled from atmosphere to orbital extraction bases, and then sent back into space (sometimes with prisoners or space exploration equipment). The raw materials are processed and sent to the surface in tractor beam sites. The process is slower, but has less risk of alien interference.

### Resource sources

A part of the Dalmers organic matter, water, mineral and metal wealth comes from asteroid mining. Asteroid nets were created solely to round up asteroids for future mining. The Dalmer mine asteroids for their natural, easily accessible resources.

### Asteroid mining

Life support on asteroids is provided by photo cell banks powered by selenium. The selenium can be sourced from pools, via robots capable of withstanding the high temperatures.

Usually is composed of a station, a central computer and five or six assistants.

Issues with Orbital asteroid mining include stabilizing the asteroid before reaching the planet, until it is put on a stable orbit around welt. Then giant mirrors concentrate sunlight to boil off the gases, drilling begins and centrifuges separate the useful materials. The materials are processed and sent back in either reusable rockets or shuttles. The printed capsules from the asteroid rig are then launched from the rig into the ocean where ships collect them and tow them away.

#### **Asteroid drop mines**

When an asteroid containing valuable resources makes planetfall, the Dalmer can claim these asteroid crash sites to harvest it. If the other races make it first, the Dalmer are obligated by law to concede. A crashed asteroid being harvested is known as an asteroid drop mine.

#### **Asteroid farm**

Farm can be installed on asteroids who present an appropriate biosphere, this lessens the pressure for food on the planet. these are rare however because of space raiders.

##### **Space Raiders**

Sometimes, asteroid farm transports are raided by unknown space entities on their way back to Welt.

#### **Asteroid mining**

Sometimes the Dalmer install resource extraction facilities directly on the asteroid. Clones are used frequently to maintain resource extraction drones on asteroids, under the illusion of being unique individuals. So far the missions these clones accomplish are the maintenance of water conversion power plants, mining, machine factories and for off planet infrastructure. These clones have a limited lifespan of five years, after which they are killed and replaced by another identical clone.

#### **Fountainwater source**

*Main article: Fountainwater*

Fountainwater is sometimes found in asteroids full of the liquid that crashed into the planet.

The asteroid landed in one of the artificial lakes in Pentagon, creating an island where the inhabitants maintained their current appearance and energy. The inhabitants named the landmass the island of youth. This was despite most of its inhabitants being seniors and retirees and remaining in that state. Aging simply stopped on the island. Rumors of fountains and pools of water with healing properties began to spread around Dalmeran. Animals began to congregate to these pools and defended them against outsiders.

Later, when Fountainwater became more easily accessible, regeneration tanks were invented. In kinland, where asteroids fall more often than anywhere else in the empire, regeneration tanks were built everywhere in the city’s of the land.

Much later, pills, Stimpack and later lockets were invented, as they use much less Fountainwater to manufacture.

### Prisons

*Main article: Offworld prisons, Prison*

Some asteroids are used as prisons.

A davy locker is such a prison where access is through a time locked warp gate that allows ships to the small asteroid where people are marooned.

## DCDEA

*Main Article: DCDEA*

After initial mishaps and breakthroughs, the Dalmer created the Royal Celestial Array, also known as the Dalmeran Celestial Defense and Exploration Array (DCDEA). The DCDEA's job is the protection of Welt from meteor showers, the Celestial Array, of all dalmer from extra weltians, the maintenance and creation of Dalmer satellites, and to a lesser degree, the exploration of space.

The Dalmeran Celestial Defense and Exploration Array (DCDEA) is an Empire wide institution also in charge of tractor beam sites and Skycaller holds.

### Tractor beam site

*Main article: Tractor beam site*

Tractor beam sites are where asteroids are pulled from space unto welt in order to extract the ressources it contains or send back to space. Tractor beam sites are not distributed evenly on the empire's territory due to concerns for the other races in the area.

This fact was exploited by the Rhonis family.

#### **Tractor beams**

Tractor beams are used to dock ships and asteroids coming in from orbit. As such they are staples of Spaceports and tractor beam sites.

### Tracking station

*Main Article: Tracking Station*

Forward observation base for asteroid showers. They have defensive shields and an array of sensors to determine an asteroid's composition. Tracking stations aren’t powerful enough to have their own tractor beams as such cannot deviate asteroids or ships.

### Skycaller holds

*Main article: Skycaller hold*

These holds (and the staves they protect) true nature is to maintain large asteroids in orbit and controlling their descent as a weapon of mass destruction.

Later these holds became military control sites part of the celestial body observation and disaster prevention agencies of the Empire. The stations are used to project magnetic impulses that would keep incoming asteroids in atmosphere, until their descent could be controlled so as not to crash into habitable sites. A technology to control the descent of the celestial bodies was created in the form of the Comet control staff.

Learning from this, the Dalmer created the Dalmeran Celestial Defense and Exploration Agency (DCDEA), who installs tractor installations all over the planet to attract meteors from orbit using tractor/repulsor technology, outfit them with Dalmer technology, and send them back.

### Aurbical

The Aurbical is a DCDEA celestial data collection device. It is made of glass gears and ivory pistons, and suffused with the blue glow of electric energy. It is used to track the movements of the moons, constellations, and planets and calculate the exact turn of the seasons. It detected the directional origin of comets and stored it as data. It can also predict the weather and even control it on a continental scale.

## Technology

### Weaponized Meteors

The crudest of technologies applied to asteroids, weaponized meteors are simply celestial bodies unto which thrusters and reactors are implemented, in order for it to be moved at will. The most common usage is to crash the meteor into a desired target. Despite this, weaponized meteors are designed to shock and awe, but not for actual destruction. Weaponized meteors can be used for other functions, such as to block out the sun temporarily.

#### **Meteor beacon**

When activated, calls down a weaponized asteroid.

### Orbital Assimilator

*Main article: Orbital Assimilator*

Some ships are large and autonomous to have on board tractor beam sites known as orbital assimilators.

For example, the Steward can harvest gas from its position. It can also harvest meteors and asteroids using celestial body analysts and tractor/repulsor beam technology.

### Meteor staff

*Main article: Meteor Staff*

The Dalmer experimented with weaponizing asteroids and created the aptly named meteor staff which acts as a miniaturized tractor beam, calling down a meteor kept in orbit unto a target. However the other races are capable of similar feats, so the Dalmer are hesitant to plant the idea of weaponized meteors in the minds of the other races.

### Last defense

When the alien invasion was at its darkest, the Dalmer devised a plan to magnetically enhance Welts core. This would cause all the asteroids in the Belt to enter Welts atmosphere and crash into the planet's surface. This would ensure the Dalmer would take the enemy, and all their secrets with them to the end of days.

## Incidents

Incidents are mishaps, controversies and errors caused by space and are the reasons why the Dalmer tend to distrust DCDEA operations and asteroid mining.

### Alien organisms

*Main article: Alien invasions*

Attracting asteroids to Welt isn’t always easy, there are sometimes alien organisms found on asteroids brought down by the DCDEA.

Examples

* Gorilla wolf: Alien organisms who arrive inside mysterious asteroids.
* Cicada Clown: Asteroid born clown that returns to the surface of welt to feed every 27 years.

This led to propositions for asteroids being explored in orbit before being permitted to arrive on the planet. This does happen but the imperatives of the economy sometimes force the chance to be taken.

### Fear of space

*Main article: Dalmer fear of space*

The Dalmer fear space, but everything in the atmosphere of Welt is fine. As such, they can operate in an atmosphere up to 10 000km. Asteroid colonization is commonplace as observation platforms or as resource extraction bases. This expanse was furthered by the discovery of realms, asteroids with their own atmosphere and biosphere.

However the fear of space is reaffirmed every time an incident concerning space happens, below are some examples of incidents:

* The lunar crisis
* The red sun
* The Skycaller incident
* The rain: Interdimensional travel into space once opened onto an asteroid field, making space travel once again grind to a halt due to superstition.
* The incident: A prisoner sent to prison on an asteroid smuggles a remote detonation device for an elected kingdoms AF weapon stores.
* Shimmer radiation field: Alien in origin, these fields are torched without prejudice, they originate from asteroids
* Moondeath