Location: Milky Way / Caleston Rift / Yakawa System / Fifth planet
Description[]
A hydrogen-helium gas giant, Kobayashi has a faint ring system. A "rust belt" of decrepit refueling stations and abandoned habitats on its moons have attracted vorcha, krogan, and other ne'er-do-wells. Living a hand-to-mouth existence with no garden planet supplying them, they trade helium-3 fuel and recycled waste products to survive. Kidnapees from Maskawa are typically brought to Kobayashi to be released or sold as chattel to out-of-system slavers.
TRAVEL ADVISORY: Law enforcement authorities of Maskawa categorically state that their effective range does not extend as far as Kobayashi. A statistically significant number of distress signals have been broadcast from within the one-million-kilometer mark of Kobayashi. Civilian traffic is not advised.
Mineral Deposits[]
Initial Scanner Result: Moderate
| Mineral | Amount | Approximate Value |
|---|---|---|
| Palladium | Medium | 5,400 |
| Platinum | Medium | 7,400 |
| Iridium | Low | 4,800 |
| Element Zero | None | 0 |
Trivia[]
- Kobayashi's name and the distress signals reported in conjunction with the planet lying beyond the jurisdiction of Maskawa's law enforcement authorities may be a reference to the Kobayashi Maru scenario from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
- The world may also be named after Makoto Kobayashi, 1/4th recipient of the Nobel Physics Prize 2008. He and Toshihide Maskawa were jointly awarded for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature.