Silla (moon)

Silla is one of the six moons of the planet Polaris in the Euphrat system. It is a populated world and part of New Babylon, but considered amongst the poorest regions and politically unstable.

Name and etymology
Silla was named after a deity of the Inuit.

Athmosphere
Following terraforming efforts, the once sterile planet has developed an oxygen-rich athmosphere suitable for human settlement. Density of the athmosphere at sea level is comparable to terran values, but due to lower gravity air pressure is lower.

Hydrosphere
The introduction of organism that practice photosynthesis and the subsequent fixation of carbon from the athmosphere in organic matter has led to a significant decrease in the greenhouse effect and the extension of polar ice caps. Despite this, Silla is still dominated by large, shallow oceans, a thick cloud layer that is closed for most of the time and generates heavy precipitation and recurring storms.

Biosphere
Covered in large amounts of liquid water, located within the habitable zone around its star and with a stable athmosphere rich in carbon, Silla was initially expected to possess native life, but was found to be thoroughly sterile. Terraforming efforts introduced numerous microorganisms into the oceans of Silla which developed a stable ecosystem that generated an oxygen-rich athmosphere, but higher lifeforms only arrived with human refugees who settled the planet prematurely. As such, most higher life on Silla still requires careful tending by colonists.

Agriculture
With the landmass consisting of barren rock, the backbone of the agricultural industry on Silla are the tidal farms littering its coastlines. Many of these installations are dedicated aquacultures breeding fish or mussels, but their most important produce are algae. Several dozen variants are cultivated on Silla, including GMO-crops with altered nutritional value or for industrial purposes. The algae also serve as the foundation of landbased agriculture, providing substrate for soil or nutrition for hydroponic cultures, as well as feeding livestock. The most common farm animal on Silla are goats due to their modest requirements.

History
Silla was discovered as part of the expansion of the Atlantic Charter Alliance in the galactic west of the Aleph Sector and quickly became the subject of a terraforming program due to its combination of possessing physical properties conductive to the developement of life, but no native lifeforms at all. After the Human Culling Campaign, refugees fled to the far regions of human expansion, including Silla. However, the planet, still in the early stages of terraforming and with harsh conditions for permanent human settlement, was only targeted by those who had little choice in the matter, usually forced to make planetfall due to lack of ressources or technical malfunctions that prohibited them from travelling further to more developed worlds.

As such, Silla remained a poor world and its people built their colonies against the hardships of scarce ressources and unforgiving weather. Over the course of a century the locals would develope a reputation for being stubborn, direct, hard-working and honest.

When New Babylon was founded, Silla was placed firmly in their sphere of influence, against the wishes of the Free Refugium and without consulting the local populace. A garrison of New Babylon forces arrived in the year 113 ADE and the military governor began coopting local powerstructures. Heavy taxation on the poor population and the mishandling of numerous political incidents however bred resentment that would explode ten years later in a rebellion that has not been fully subdued to this day.