Halon
Halon was the first planet in the Foross sector to gain a permanent settlement after the discovery of three meteor impact sites rich in rhodium, palladium, and iridium by prospectors from Turik. The Turikans began mining on Halon in 478, bringing in large numbers of chosa miners from the other side of enkai space to work in the planet’s harsh conditions. Most chosa in the Foross sector claim to be descendants of those first miners, but statistically most of their ancestry comes from later generations of chosa migrating to the sector.
Halon is a very old planet, orbiting an old star in the early phases of its red giant stage. It is also believed to be mostly dead.
The planet’s atmosphere covers the skies in an almost permanent brown haze that reflects a large portion of the star’s light and is the only reason it is still possible to walk on its surface without protective suits. The air’s oxygen content is high enough for all humanoid species to survive, but considerably lower than what most people would consider comfortable to breath. New arrivals to the planet often suffer from headaches and fatigue and typically wear oxygen masks until their bodies get used to it, which can take several weeks. Enkai born in the somewhat thin atmosphere of Turik or chosa were the only people able to perform hard physical labor under these conditions.
There is no animal or plant life on Halon, but it is quite possible that microbial life could still exist underground in some parts of the planet that keeps releasing oxygen into the air. Geologists from the mining companies reported finding some fossils in the debris from the mines that could indicate that Halon once had an abundance of small shrubs, but no paleontologic studies have ever been conducted on the planet.
After the discovery of new precious metal sources on Sarhat and the founding of the Tauros colony in 547, the mining companies started to move all personnel and movable equipment from Halon, and by 564 the last Turikan mine on the planet ceased operations. Today, there are less than 20,000 people believed to still be on Halon. Most of them pirates and smugglers using the abandoned mine shafts as hideouts, or scavengers looking for abandoned mining equipment that hasn’t been picked clean of valuable components a century ago.
Ataris
Ataris is a small rocky planet largely covered in ice that orbits close to a hot brown dwarf. The planet has a fairly dense atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon dioxide that traps enough heat from the brown dwarf’s dim glow to make it possible to go out on its surface without heated environment suits, but its complete lack of oxygen in the air makes it impossible to survive without breathing masks and oxygen tanks.
The planet is home to several science stations dug into the black rock of its jagged mountains by Takkusat Research from Usomi on Palan over the last 50 years. There are some 17,000 people mahir on Ataris at any given time, but it has no permanent residents and is considered by Takkusat Research to be part of Usomi territory.