Yorkshire

## The Liberation War

During the Liberation war, the Empire of Virginia was still largely a burgeoning colony and the mission had only recently landed on the planet's surface. Fortunately, the Empire's mission had gone without a hitch and no issues that plagued many other colonies were readily reported. They quickly expanded and spread into multiple neighboring star systems; one of which contained Yorkshire.

Yorkshire was established primarily as a water gathering and research colony given that Yorkshire's surface is ninety-five percent fresh water with relatively few contaminants. In those times, Yorkshire's primary goal was to produce as much fresh water as possible to give to the orbital stations that would later become parts of the ring surrounding Virginia. Those stations used that water for drinking, disposal of waste, cleaning, industrial processes and perhaps most importantly for electrolysis which they used to replenish their oxygen and hydrogen stores to keep their stations aloft.

Aside from its economic role in keeping the Virginian Empire's stations afloat, Yorkshire had little noteworthy involvement as an individual planet in the Liberation War.

## Early Exploration

The earliest of exploration on Yorkshire primarily involved searching for land. Over ninety-five percent of the planet's surface is water with the shallowest areas being dozens of kilometers deep. When land was finally found a seaport was the next step and finally from there the depths of the ocean itself. Numerous landmarks exist beneath the surface of the waters such as the Doyle Trench, Omar's Spire, the spire fields and many others.

Omar's Spire, specifically, was found due to a volcanic eruption that sent shockwaves along the coast where the initial shipyard was built. A damage report led a submarine to follow along a large fissure created by the eruption, eventually leading it to a massive spire. The spire was found to be the source of the eruption. It changed names dozens of times as the area was explored and new researchers, unaware that it had already been named, gave it a new name. Omar Hadid Fashad, who pioneered many systems the modern Network uses, was eventually honored by naming the spire after him since many pieces of the Network were already in use by the Virginian Empire which reduced redundancy in many systems.

The Spire contains hundreds of magma veins that crisscross beneath its surface. Many of them extend deep into the crust of Yorkshire for hundreds of miles and many have never been fully mapped. Quite a number are home to dangerous creatures though few pirates dare to tread in this location both due to the environmental hazards and the wildlife. Exceptionally rare crystal formations, such as fire opals, can be found where the vents cross one another and mining the area has become a priority under the Empire of Virginia's domain not only for their beauty but for their use in specialized laboratory equipment.

Around Omar's Spire are the spire fields which are primarily composed of much smaller spires and some extremely thin mountains. None of these reach the surface like Omar's Spire and for the most part provide a hazard to passing vessels that are moving low in the depths. Many of these spires are clustered quite close together and have led to the death of many smugglers that intend to use the spire fields as cover for their submersibles. As a result, salvaging crews began to move in to pick apart the remains of the wrecked vessels and the area has since become incredibly hostile and often becomes a battleground. Fortunately, in the modern era, authorities are normally quick to arrive.

The Doyle Trench was discovered a little while after Omar's Spire and is currently the deepest known trench on Yorkshire. It extends over eight miles beneath the sea floor and there is an additional sixteen miles of ocean above it. Many dozens of creatures have been discovered in the depths of the Doyle trench which runs almost the entire length of the northern hemisphere of Yorkshire. Research stations were established in the trench soon after its discovery and were placed in the walls of the trench in order to avoid disturbing local wildlife. An uncountable number of species migrate through the trench every year to seek shelter in warmer waters as the seasons change and most of the predators living in the trench permanently are only active during this transition period.

The trench is largely unexplored, and its deepest depths cannot be reached even by autonomous drones. Massive creatures as large as cruisers can fit many of their species' members side by side with room to spare and during the Unification Wars a Levant class cruiser was lost in the depths and deemed unrecoverable when scanners could no longer detect its signature. There are even sections of the trench which are so deep as to have an undetermined depth as not even the most advanced sensors of the USC can reach that deep.

## Modern Era

No intelligent life was found upon Yorkshire though dozens upon dozens of ruins underneath the ocean's surface were uncovered and ongoing searches for additional ruins have begun. These ruins appear to have been left behind by an aquatic species in the stone age of technology. Very little is known about this species which the locals have taken to calling 'Squid' though the scientific community refers to them as 'Aqua Habitantis' or 'Water Dwellers'. This species worshipped the massive several kilometer long whales that inhabit Yorkshire's oceans as deities though it appears through what little of their language has been translated that they did not have individual monikers for these creatures and instead referred to them as a collective whole. The ruins themselves are quite dangerous even with modern technology not only due to booby traps but also due to the presence of smugglers, pirates and wildlife that can take up residence in these underwater areas. Often times, these ruins have quite large air pockets inside them which leads scientists to speculate that the species was amphibious rather than aquatic. These air pockets of course make natural dens for pirates and smugglers that are well defended, largely unknown and for all but the most famous of ruins completely unexplored.

Citizens of Yorkshire typically live either in research stations on the ocean floor or in massive flotilla which gently plod along the surface of the water. Inside these floating cities are massive ballast tanks that allow them to control the depth at which they float. During certain weather events, the ballast tanks are filled partially with water to lower sections of the city underneath which lowers the city's profile and makes it virtually impossible for the city to capsize. The lower levels of the city are made watertight to ensure the safety of the citizens living in these areas though they have connections to the middle and upper layers of the city so that citizens can still go to work, shopping or even leave for vacation.

Storms on Yorkshire, especially those such as hurricanes, tend to be extraordinarily large in scale and can last for weeks or months at a time. As a result, most cities are fitted with a large number of tugs which typically perform the duties expected of tug ships but also serve to move the flotilla away from danger whenever necessary and possible. Areas such as the spire fields, for example, must be avoided by the flotillas in order to ensure that they do not rake their hulls against the rocks and risk hull ruptures or running aground.

Expeditions are commonly launched from flotilla whenever the flotilla happens to be overhead or nearby a point of interest. Some flotillas have more permanent stations and will patrol specific waters for this purpose. The flotilla itself, however, is never sent directly to a scientific research site. Instead, large submarines are deployed alongside dozens of smaller craft to independently operate in the local area. These vessels are often left behind for long periods of time as the flotilla moves along its desired route.