TMW#17 - Salacia System | "The Underwater Secret"
Overview ~
The beautiful water world planet of Salacia, covered in vast ocean has wonders below its surface, just as beautiful as its trickled green archipelagos. Though mostly unmapped, few mining outposts are located around these oceans and seas. Marine life of many sizes and appearances lurk all over its dozen kilometer deep oceans; and some of the shallowest zones of the planet's oceans harbor known and unidentified stations and underwater outposts. One of which we'll be visiting now.
Hellken
I like Taylor Swift's impression 
Thanks!
Forthwall
And that's exactly where were heading! Thanks Shub 
Schulmanator
Thanks a lot! And if you ever need some snazzy new graphics for Schulmania, feel free to ask me! 
Hazani Pratama
Thanks a lot!
supercitys354262
Thanks for voting! The Salacia update's next
terring
I did make the spaceport, kinda a 'one day project' thing I did Thanks and Salacia's up next!
IL.
Thanks for voting anyway, it's appreciated to at least know what you'd want to see next though
Ace
Ha, totally. Thanks
ggamgus
You too? Thanks a lot, and thanks for voting
GMT
I kinda did Thanks a lot!
KonstantinII
Thanks a lot, and no the Spaceport is real, but yes, the ships and lasers are photoshopped
RepublicMaster
Thanks Will, always great to see you reading my CJ
felano
Sorry, haven't been able to make the Noveria update like I planned over the holidays, so it won't be available for a while since school's started again, thanks for voting Salacia though
vinlabsc3k
Thanks a lot! Yeah the lasers and fighters are photoshopped, their aren't many models similar to Mass Effect's ships so I photoshop them in. And I'm not modder either so the lasers aren't possible Also sorry to disappoint but Noveria's update hasn't been done so it won't be available for a while. Thanks for voting though
daTSchikinhed
Thanks for voting! Thanks, it's great to see your enjoying my City Journal, hope you enjoy what I've got in the update today then
spursrule14
Thanks so much! The rocks? It's a little hard for me to remember where I got them, but I'm positive its on the STEX. If I find them first, I'll quickly notify you! Watch your PM
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Note: Hey Simtropolians! It's another update again of the 5 prepared updates I made during my 2 week school holiday. As you might already know, Salacia is not an original Mass Effect world but something I made and incorporated into the ME Universe. Located in the Violet or Violaceus (Just latin for Violet) Nebula, we're heading to an underwater outpost with an unknown status.
Featuring another one of my 'quick one day project' BATs that I spent no more than half a day at most developing, it might also help you to know that since I'm not fully aware of how to add nightlighting, it's all actually done on photoshop to simulate the lights. Hope you all enjoy this update
Disclaimer - Mass Effect Planet locations, species and storyline plots (excluding the events and locations in the Violet/Violaceus Nebula) are of the property of BioWare EA.
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We're visting again the beautiful joint Human-Asari water-world colony of Salacia, home to massive underwater predators, spectacular oceanic environments, tropical archipelagos and platform cities. With its 96% ocean coverage and only 4% of the surface having dry land in the form of broken islands, Salacia is also home to one of the galaxy's fiercest and largest of tropical hurricanes. Weather reeks havoc on the planet on a regular basis, though it's not likely to completely ruin the planet's still long hours of sunshine and blue skies. As a consequence of the planet's close proximity to Anemoi, Salacia's parent star or system Sun, the immense heat it receives that supports a very consistent tropical climate on Salacia triggers storms of unparalleled ferocity with wind speeds gusting to about 350 kph in an average occurring hurricane. F4 to F5 class hurricanes on Earth are the equivalent of F1 to F2 class hurricanes on Salacia. Hurricanes with such high ferocity often only develop during a peak in particular seasonal changes. With the planet's axial tilt, there are two particular seasons that both hemispheres of the planet will experience during different times of the year. The hemisphere receiving the most direct sunlight will experience a peak in Hurricane weather; the season is known as the Terbinum Magnum or Procellae Maximum (Big Hurricanes / Hurricane High) by Human meteorologists. The second season experienced is during when a specific hemisphere is facing away, at its least direct contact with the Sun, with less erratic weather and cooler but still tropical climate; the season is known as the Terbinum Parva or Procellae Minimum (Small Hurricanes / Hurricane Low).
To keep from encountering these monster superstorms, it's inhabitants of a vast array of species have adapted by constructing underwater infrastructure, sometimes housing small populations but not exceeding 5,000 in a single station. There are also scattered amounts of underwater research outposts and labs that are privately built under the noses of the Salacia Planetary Government based in Hydropolis; the capital of Salacia. Though there are still many identified and charted underwater outposts, many still get away with how vast and large the oceans of Salacia are. Searching for illegal infrastructure and settlements is pointless.
The Northern Hemisphere of Salacia is currently experiencing a drastic high in erratic Hurricane weather. With the moons Volturnus and Tiberinus in the background, 2 of the planet 3 moons...Kodiak shuttles are flying high over the planet's turbulent atmosphere to rendezvous at the patrolling Alliance cruiser and dreadnought in the distance that's flying over the Hyper-Hurricane Thali, a Hurricane that's endured for about 2 weeks over the very turbulent Hunderolt Ocean. As you can see, it's currently about to engulf settlements along the New-Pacific Archipelago.
Violent winds and turbulent ocean currents are brought by the havoc of the Hyper-Hurricane above. Thali is no obscure occurrence as storms on Salacia can last for weeks on end being fed by the heat of the planet's oceans during the Terbinum Magnum or Procellae Maximum season. But below the violent hurricane and the turbulent ocean, a calm prevails and it's aquatic inhabitants are left undisturbed. So are those living in artificial environments on the subsurface.
An underwater station lies unknown to those outside. Likely a privately operated research outpost, it's not a station that's listed on charted maps of Salacia's oceans and seas. Diving Mechs are seen interacting, observing and scowering the environment around the station, overcoming the darkness of the deep waters almost 3500m below sea level. Aquatic marine life like strangely large Jelly-fish and small fish-like creatures roam the deep waters, adapted to the immense pressure as they've evolved to thrive in the darkness searching for prey in life abundant subsurface where deep-sea corals and marine animals live amongst.
The darkness is immense and only specially built and installed lighting and the use of magnesium allows divers to roam and explore the areas around. It seems a fellow researcher has found amongst the ocean's thick flora and fauna, a lost relic; the remnants of a long lost Alliance survey craft that once probed and explored Salacia. Likely to have encountered one of Salacia's monster storms, the craft was greatly overwhelmed and control was lost, sending the crew to plummet into the ocean. Though aged and rusted, likely to have been here for the last decade, it still upholds the Alliance symbol proudly, though its crew lost many years ago.
Meanwhile farther afoot, a Salacian Aquatic Thresher Maw hastily rages through the ocean floor. Essentially the aquatic version of a subterranean Thresher Maw, spores that arrived on the planet had allowed the species to adapt to the planet's mostly oceanic environment. It was first found on Salacia by Human pioneers who first sited the beast flying out of the planet's ocean, narrowly hitting the craft they were occupying. Little is known about this species except that it's a counterpart of the Thresher Maw. It's population is relatively low, with only about 3,000 (estimated at 2,905) across the planet. It's massive size (being under the classification as mega-fauna) has made it a common problem when encountered and has triggered a revision when building underwater stations. Often penetrating stations within a matter of seconds, it's unlikely escape when these beasts smash open underwater infrastructure. There have been 27 known breaches in Salacia's colonial history, none of which have had any reported or recovered survivors (they would've been eventually killed by the pressure underwater alone when a station was penetrated).
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