Novus

Novus is a frigid, mineral-rich moon orbiting a large gas-giant situated on the fringes of civilized space. Or it used to be, before its surface was torn up in prolonged attempts to dig every last bit of valuable resources out of its icy crust. After years and years of careless, overzealous strip-mining, all that was left was a desolate wasteland filled with abandoned equipment and hazardous waste. Most were content to leave it to rot, and its monetary value was very low even for such a remote piece of merchandise.

Several more years later, after some eccentric planning and very steep investments, Novus was transformed--the entire moon encased in a sprawling, never-ending futuristic metropolis, built high above the toxic surface. Meant to be a beacon of progress and an opportunity for those willing to work, or simply seeking a new life, on the frontier, would-be citizens were invited by the thousands to come and populate the new, 'reborn' Novus.

That was then, however, and the 'now' of Novus is a stark conrast to the vision set forth by its creators. When the careless, capitalistic ruling class was driven out for abuse of power and sheer negligence of the wider population, the rest of the citizenry stepped up to take their place. Opinions on how things should be run differed greatly, as they do, and so the city-planet of Novus was split into several Districts that, as time wore on, each developed their own distinct personalities and specialties. The main consistency between them is that, despite everything, money still very much is power and in even the most 'proper' Districts, the law is more of a suggestion than a hard rule. Too far out of the way to be properly policed, Novus is infamous as a hub for shady, illegal activity of just about every stripe.