Masake-fi (Gaale: Point Pride) is a settlement on the planet Muyeol in the Verandi Empire. It is the first settlement to be comprised almost entirely by Ashkathi-Verandi and Ashkathi immigrants on a newly colonized planet. Though Muyeol has long been a part of the Empire, 96% of the planet is under water, and the little surface ground is covered in a perpetual fog and subject to frequent stormy weather. Effectively lifeless, Muyeol’s exploitable resources were not considered worth the effort needed to colonize the planet. For over half a millennia it remained a remote part of Verandi, with only two attempts to colonize it ending up abandoned. In 3533, the Muyeol Company began constructing a settlement for Ashkathi-Verandi, whose physiology was well suited for the environment. Naming the settlement Masake-fi, the Muyeol Company intends for the settlement to be the focal point for the terraforming and colonizing of the rest of the planet.
History[]
Early Muyeol History[]
Muyeol was first visited in 3176, during Sennal’s Expedition. The planet’s environment gave it a “Possible” colonization tag. In 3180, an expedition failed to establish a foothold on Muyeol after a storm destroyed the housing units. A second attempt at a colony tried to use submersibles as underwater moving cities before the project ran out of funding. By the end of the century all regions of the planet that had been sold to potential colonists were returned to government control.
Aside from the occasional research team, Muyeol stayed uninhabited for over 300 years. In 3524, however, one of those teams from the Buena Park Marine Institute included several Ashkathi-Verandi who found the environment well-suited for them. After their exploration, several members of the team raised the possibility of living on Muyeol to the head of the institute, Professor Maximilian Gaati. Gaati dismissed the idea, pointing out that even if the planet was inhabitable, it was not livable; there was no food to live off of or resources to exploit. All the researcher’s food and power had been transported from out-of-system with them. Though he had no confidence in the idea, the subject became a topic of discussion in a meeting with Corona Tante, the governor of Sera-gan. Unlike the professor, Tante saw merit in the idea. After reviewing the reports of the various research teams over the centuries, Tante discovered Gaati was wrong, Muyeol did have deposits of minerals and rare-earth metals, but being located deep beneath the ocean of a stormy planet had scared off potential miners, who preferred asteroids as their source of minerals.
Tante, however, had bigger ideas for the planet. The success of Serr-gan and subsequent Ashkathi built cities inspired her to attempt the project on a grander scale. A water world like those in the Ashkathi Union, populated by Verandi-Ashkathi, AU immigrants, and any landers who chose to join them. Since nothing greater than bacteria lived on the planet, it was a blank slate the colonists could fill with what they saw fit. Muyeol had been written off as uninhabitable due to its watery nature, but what for landers would be considered the biggest obstacle to terraforming, already a dying practice in Verandi since so much already livable land was available on the inhabited worlds, for the Ashkathi it meant the work was already half done for them.
Founding[]
After more discussions over the next two years with Gaati and the Muyeol research teams, Tante convinced the Marine Institute to support her colonization plans. In particular, the institute was drawn in by the prospect of being the leader of the first large scale terraforming project in Verandi in over a century. For Tante, the important aspect of the institute’s support meant she now had the backing of the scientific community that she could use to coax potential investors in the project, now established as the Muyeol Company. The institute's support did have the intended effect, as numerous individuals and organizations, mostly Askathi-Verandi, pledged financial support. Among the human-Verandi, the most important shareholders were the young Princess Yvonne and Lady Jemecca. They, along with Gaati and Tante, formed the company’s board of trustees, and Tante stepped down as governor of Sera-gan to serve as president.
Having finally secured enough financial backing, Tante went to Zaphnath in 3532 and approached the Ministry of the Treasury to buy territory on Muyeol. Much to her surprise, because of Muyeol’s virtually non-existent importance in the Empire, she was able to purchase much more territory than she had initially hoped for. In all, the company president was able to secure 15 million square kilometers of Muyeol.
Survey and scouting teams spent the better part of the year determining the best location for a settlement. Meanwhile, the Muyeol Company hired marine scientists to begin conducting experiments on cross-planetary naturalization, the plan being to create a new hybrid ecosystem by using select species of plants and animals from other planets that could establish a stable, natural order for the dead planet. After extensive preparations, Ashkathi and robot teams were dropped on the planet in 3535 to begin the construction of the first settlement. With mostly Seralonian designs, the first set of buildings were up after three weeks. On July 23, the town was named Masake-fi and a celebration of its establishment was held.
Because most of the structures were built in orbit and transported in pieces to the ocean, Masake-fi grew as fast as the settlers arrived. For the first decade, all necessities except water had to be shipped down from orbit, as the terraforming team was reluctant to establish any food species before they had fine-tuned their planned ecology. Wavecatchers were sent up around Masake-fi to provide power and soon the city was energy self-sufficient. The cost of running the city and the terraforming project were still high, however, and the Muyeol Company quickly began mining operations to provide jobs and returns in shareholders’ investments. The project was severally delayed when the ore explorers brought in to begin the mining operation turned out to be defective, requiring weeks to special order new ones. By 3536, Masake-fi had established a school, a council of elder’s chamber, a library, an entertainment center, a Christian church and a small space port. A separate sector for lander Verandi was completed the next year. There are two unofficial archball teams in Masake-fi, one representing the city's east side and one the west.
In 3541, Masake-fi introduced sixteen plants in the city as the first phase of terraforming. Since then, the city has followed a five year cycle of introducing new species and observing their adaption of the world, compared to lab results, and adjusting species introductions as needed. In 3549, the terraforming project was transferred to the Masake-fi Marine Institute. Mining and the teraforming project are currently the biggest employers in the city.
Contemporary[]
In 3555, Masake-fi has a population of 9,900. As Muyeol is further transformed and the city expands, it is estimated the population will increase exponentially over the decade. A second settlement is currently in the planning stages. Plans for a slip-tube connecting Masake-fi and this second city are also being developed, with Ashkathi engineers being brought in as consultants. The city is also involved in negotiations with the Ashkathi Union over the introduction of Larinian and Tehlanan species during the next stage of terraforming.
Future[]
Should Muyeol be elevated to world status, Masake-fi as the oldest settlement would be among the top contenders to be made the capital city. If so, then according to tradition, Masake-fi would be renamed to Muyeol City.