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  1. Drift💫A Space Odyssey
  3. Lore

Deepmere

At a glance

  • World type. Cold, stormy ocean world in the Mid.

  • Main trade. Kelp fuel.

  • Ruled by. The Grand Council, through its Deepmere office and the harvest guilds.

  • Constellation. Vellari. Thalassa-Nine, Brinelight, Deepmere and Salt Crown.

  • Port. Gyreline Orbital, 140 berths.

  • Reputation. Cheap fuel, bad weather and tough crews. Tanker raids on the way out.

Role in the Drift

Deepmere grows kelp in huge circular farms called gyres and turns it into fuel. Kelp fuel burns clean, costs little and runs half the freighters and power grids in the Mid. Haul tugs refuel here on their way out to the ice. Brinelight sends reef composites for the rigs. Salt Crown takes Deepmere's brine waste and sells back chemicals.

Geography

  • Open Harvest Gyres. Big rings of kelp farm. Rigs stand on tall pylons and drop their cutters into the sea.

  • Upwelling Belt. Rich water where young kelp grows. Crews take turns using it.

  • Deepmere Trench. A deep sea trench with strong currents and black water. Only rescue and survey craft may go in. Some of them do not come back, and nobody knows why.

  • Stormline. A storm band that closes the rigs every season.

  • Shelf Cities. Heated domes on fixed platforms, with housing, clinics, schools and warehouses.

History

  • USD 0023. The Vellari constellation forms, and Deepmere becomes its kelp-fuel world.

  • USD 0030-0040. The farm gyres grow. The first maps of the Trench are made, and a rescue network starts.

  • USD 0082. The Salt Crown ice-jacking wave. Raiders start hitting Deepmere fuel tankers on the same lane.

  • USD 0100 to now. Steady output, storm slowdowns and a lot of escort work.

Who runs it

  • Grand Council office. Sets harvest shares and farm slots and declares the stormline closed or open.

  • Harvest Guilds. Run the rigs and gyres, swap crews and schedule repairs.

  • Membrane Cooperative. Makes and rebuilds the filter membranes. Every rig needs them, so the Cooperative has a lot of pull.

  • Port Inspectorate. Tests fuel to catch sellers who water it down. Respected and watched closely.

Economy

Grow kelp, process it, ship it. The biggest costs are rig repairs, new membranes and shutting down for storms. Side work includes membrane making, pump repair, food kelp and storm safety training. Prices climb in storm season, when membranes run short, and when the lane to Salt Crown gets dangerous.

Places

  • Gyrewarden Reach. Dispatch town that runs the gyres.

  • Tideglass Portage. The fuel port, where tankers load.

  • Fermentor’s Span. Catalyst and additive vats.

  • Spareflow Basin. Parts and repair town, home of the Downtime Kettle.

  • Stormhold Array. Weather schools and rescue base.

  • Trench Gate Station. Rescue base on the edge of the Deepmere Trench.

  • Arc-Nine Farm Ring. A steady farm ring used to train new crews.

  • Membrane Yard East. Fast refit yard for storm damage.

  • Crew Quarter Blocks. Sleep pods, canteens, clinics and gear shops for short layovers.

Visiting crews

  • In storm season, go to the safety talk or you do not get a berth.

  • Fuel is tested before you buy it. A seller caught watering it down gets banned from every port on the planet.

  • Tankers leaving for Salt Crown hire escorts. The pay is good and the risk is real.

  • Crew bars in the shelf cities are warm, cheap and full of card games during storm holds.

Life on Deepmere

Life runs on shifts and storm drills. Housing is on the fixed platforms, close to work and school. Meals are kelp, fish and imported staples. Kids learn water safety and first aid early. Clinics mostly treat diving injuries, chemical burns and cold. People are proud of on-time convoys and crews that come home.

Relations with other worlds

  • Thalassa-Nine. Buys fuel for the haul fleets and trains Deepmere tug pilots.

  • Brinelight. Sends composites and struts for the rigs, and trades repair crews after big storms.

  • Salt Crown. Takes brine waste and sends back solvents and catalysts.

  • Kedra. Human courts hear fights over big fuel contracts.

  • Brightline. Synthborn banks hold payment on large contracts.

Crime and danger

  • Tanker raids. Pirates and syndicates hit full fuel tankers on the lane to Salt Crown. Fuel buyers post bounties on the raiders.

  • Fuel fraud. Watered-down or mixed fuel sold as top grade.

  • Storms. Wreck rigs, sink skiffs and close the port.

  • Trench incidents. Rescues at the Trench strain the local cutters and clinics.