Echnos

Echnos (also called Tinn VI-D) is one of six moons orbiting the gas giant Tinn VI, located in the Tinn system at the border to the Outer Rim. The barren, rocky moon's atmosphere is not breathable for any length of time, and during half of its year Echnos passes through Tinn VI's dangerous magnetic field-- most lifeforms cannot survive the field unprotected for more than twenty minutes. The field can also violently force ships from hyperspace, leaving them stranded in the Tinn system unless they can make repairs on Echnos. Echnos' inhabitants live in an enormous city-dome, forty kilometers in diameter and nearly 2000 stories high. The city's giant dome, made of blue transparisteel, shields the inhabitants from the gas giant's magnetic field and seals in a breathable atmosphere. Ships enter through eight airlock entry ports on top of the dome, and land on pads built on the peaks of the tallest buildings. The overpopulated city was built level upon level, and Level 75 is the last one open to the dome's blue "sky." The crowded, high-technology metropolis is a haven for smugglers and mercenaries, and has no form of organized government. People often come to Echnos to obtain high technology from the city's thriving black market. Attractions within the domed city include its many casinos and the weekly BlastBoat 2000 demolition derby, held in the Echnos Exhibition Dome. Echnos was first settled during the Old Republc. When scouts had their ships burned out by Tinn VI's magnetic field, the stranded crews had no choice but to colonize the nearby moon. More ships were trapped over the years from hyperspace routes near the system, but Echnos' original colonists could now make the necessary repairs. Echnos recorded almost 10,000 visits during the colony's first fifteen years, and eventually became a standard refueling and repair stop for those heading to the Outer Rim. While the moon has lost some of its importance over the years, it is still the only place in the system where any ships damaged by Tinn VI's magnetic field can make repairs. The compound called Polydex-9, sold in Echnos markets at a high price, is the only substance that repair the stripped magnetic bottle on these ships. [SWAJ]