DROSS - THE PRISON PLANET

For centuries, the Sol Imperium had something worse than a death sentence: the prison planet Dross.

Criminals, defectors, and other enemies of the state were exiled to Dross to do one of two things: make the dangerous but resource-rich planet into something habitable… or die in the attempt. To the Imperium, both outcomes were favorable.

Originally settled by the Sol Imperium to harvest Dross’s abundant valuable resources, the planet’s harsh atmosphere, poisonous flora and lethal fauna made the work unsustainable.

The Imperium’s solution was simple: flood the planet with desperate prisoners (human or otherwise) to see if life would find a way. Eventually it did. Despite grim odds, the exiles built a system for survival, slowly bending the planet to their will until at last they gained a foothold.

The Imperium took notice. They repurposed massive orbital platforms to act as cryogenic holding cells for new transfers. If the population suffered a sudden dip from a catastrophic event, be it plague, famine, or natural disaster, they thawed and sent in replacements. The rest remained on ice, awaiting their turn.

This offered steady control of the planet’s population as well as a roster of bodies for running tests and experiments. They called these platforms Limbo Stations.

Some time ago, the Sol Imperium Navy stopped arriving with new transfers. Supplies ran thin, oversight of the planet grew lax, and the stations themselves began falling into disarray. The Imperium either forgot about Dross, or abandoned it.

The last of these crumbling stations, Limbo-6, has entered its final days.