Mykona
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Mykona is a Class M world, the sole planet in the Z-210 System located within Ferengi space near the border with the Federation. It is just under three light years from Sector 3587 and the Geigerman asteriod field and almost as far away from Ferenginar as one can get and still be within their territory. As such, it has a well-deserved reputation as a villianous planet. As noted by Master Chief Jeb Freeman:
"Mykona sits just inside Ferengi space," the CoB began as he turned in his chair and stood
up. "Although it pretty much governs itself, thanks to huge payoffs to the Ferengi Commerce
Authority. Therefore you're gonna find free enterprise at it's rawest---it's dog eat dog down
there. Given the planet is one big urban sprawl where anything and everything goes," he said
as he tapped the wall monitor. An aerial view of Mykona scrolled across the screen. "It's a
perfect hiding place for organized crime, terrorists, arms dealers, smugglers, drug merchants,
and other assorted characters you typically leave off your Christmas card list."---USS Eclipse
Mission #03 "Down and Dirty"
History & Geography
Mykona was colonized by the Ferengi beginning in the late 19th Century. Historical records indicate the planet was once an oasis of jungles, rain forests, and extensive wetlands. But the Ferengi didn't come for the flora and the fauna, but rather the rich deposits of minerals found on and under the ocean floors. Within a century, the planet was being ravaged by mining and misuse of the land. The oceans were drained and the mountains leveled. By the mid-21st Century, the planet's ecosystem was in shambles with whole species of animals and plant-life wiped from existence. Mykona was an ecological disaster and would have been readily abandoned save for the large cities that grew from the exploitation of the planet. As mining died out, commerce and trade moved in. Industries such as shipbuilding and pharmacuticals became important foundations of the economy.
There was only one thing that governed the planet, and that has always been profit. Little heed was given to the environmental damage over the years, or the urban sprawl, or reeling in the numerous corporations making money hand over fist. Naturally, this lead to another of Mykona's infamous attractions: organized crime. The first known such organization were the Red Lenders, an old Ferengi clan that skirted between legitimate and illegal activities for decades. They came to power around 2170, but it wasn't long before others moved in, like the Dark Hand and the Orion Syndicate. For awhile, uneasy agreements kept the criminals civil but by 2200 Mykona was a battleground between mobs, gangs, corporations, marauders, pirates, and just about anyone with a disruptor and a bag of latinum.
The situation worsened until the Ferengi Commerce Authority stepped in to end the violence. On the surface they made several sweeping changes to run the criminal elements to ground while boosting the economy. Still, the new government was just as corrupt and the crime simply moved underground or into the boardrooms.
After centuries of stripping Mykona's natural resources and mega-development, the planet is 90 percent urban and/or urban sprawl. Some visitors say the planet is one continuous city. The other ten percent are wastelands that are uninhabitable by most humaniod species. There are no mountain ranges, large bodies of water, canyons, or most geological features found on most Class M worlds. During the Ecological Crisis of 2221-25, the Ferengi Health Commission constructed hundreds of atmospheric scrubber facilities and water system purifiers to rid the planet of pollution that nearly saw the evacuation of two-thirds of the population. Because of the overcrowding, extensive medical facilities were also built to handle potential outbreaks.
The Legalization of Sin
Ever looking for ways to make a profit, businesses and individuals (some with little connection to Mykona) began petitioning the Commerce Authority and the Grand Nagus to legalized some of the activities that the crime organizations had been fighting over for decades. The first attempts came at the close of the 23rd Century, but legitimate businesses and the crime organizations themselves fought against them. But in 2319, gambling and prostitution were both legalized---supposedly with the help of massive bribes to the Ferengi Gaming Commission. Almost overnight, Mykona was turned into a Ferengi version of Las Vegas, except a hundred times larger and more decadent. Tourism overtook manufactoring as the major portion of the planet's economy, as millions of visitors looking to loose themselves in sin. Massive, eloborate, five-star hotels, resorts, and restaurants sprung up along a 400-mile stretch called fittingly "The Yellow Brick Road".
To the unknowing visitor, this roughly 21,000-square kilometer section is a momument to Mykona's excess and overindulgence. But outside these perimeters lie the real world: dirty, crowded, dangerous, hard, unforgiving.
While Ferengi make up the majority of the population by a slim margin, there are sizable numbers of Dopterians, Kobheerians, Farians, and Orions residing on-world.