More unsettlingly, the early explorers reported strange, unfathomable and extensive ruins of unknown origin dotting the surface of the planet, particularly and more densely concentrated towards Vulcan's northern and southern poles. Equally strange and eerie Phenomena were also associated with these ruins and structures, often causing individuals exposed to them to develop an unhealthy fascination bordering on a disturbed obsession with them.
Two corporations, one British and the other American, eager to exploit the resources of Vulcan, founded colonies. New Roanoke on the northern pole and New Plymouth on the southern pole. For a time both colonies flourished despite the extremely hostile environement of Vulcan and the associated difficulties of space craft getting to and from the planet and realised fabulous and undreamed of profits for their investors.
Then, something began to go terribly wrong: strange deaths, unexplained murders or disappearances and increasing instances of insanity began to stalk the two colonies and their outposts, even ships in orbit were affected. All contact with the two Vulcanian colonies was lost under these increasingly mysterious and much disputed circumstances. The British Royal Navy Aether Service, operating from Mercury without any formal explanation, has established a distant blockade of the now ill omened and now believed to be deserted planet. The ships of the blockading squadron now refuse to allow anyone to approach the planet under any circumstances and destroy with minimal warning any ship that attempts to land anywhere on Vulcan and more importantly any ship that attempts to leave... .
The British Empire, officially owns Mercury, but other then being a place of purely scientific interest and mining, the world is not heavily colonized save for several research stations and various mining faculilities, interested in extracting the mineral wealth of the planet, that dot the planetary surface.
Great Britain, has a small presence on the planet as well, though nowhere near as extensive or developed as the Germans, Russians and Italians. The British have found their efforts to extent their control over still larger areas of the planet blocked by the Germans, Russians and Italians who do not welcome their presence in the first place.
Secondly the every present stifling heat, frequent mists and constant rain fall, is off putting even for people who are native to the British Isles and thus no strangers to either fog or rain! Nor does the extremely hostile Venusian animals and insects and the equally dangerous plant life encourage a massive influx of potential volunteer colonists.
The Insectoids also called Selenites, are Luna's native inhabitants exist in scattered nations, colonies and enclaves that dot the moon's craters and cavern systems. While the Selenites are curious about Humanity, they have by and large kept to themselves and pursued their own interests, which as a rule do not conflict with Human interests.
The Selenites have in the past generally interacted with individual or small groups of Humans in a limited but largely peaceful number of economic or cultural exchanges. That said, not all Selenites regard Humans indifferently or curiously, a growing number of Selenites communities have begun to become suspicious of and/or alarmed by Humans due to their precieved aggressive or violent natures.
The Phaetonians, also called the Moon Men by outsiders, are the former inhabitants of the world of Phaeton, which was destroyed ages ago, and now provides much of the physical mass of the Asteroid Belt. The Phaetonians as a rule live in a strictly enforced isolation from both Humans and Selenites communities and very often themselves, living in several heavily fortified city-states that occupy an extensive cave system beneath the Moon's surface.
An international organization established by the later Luna Accords and drawn from all Terran based nations with space programs, is responsible for policing and administering the Asteroid Belt in as even handed and efficient manner as possible, which rather surprisingly it does via it's various departments and offices which handle mineral surveys, mining and water rights, regular resource allocations for each colony or mine head with the assistance of the Solar Cross and the Ceres Rangers organizations.
The former handles space rescue, salvage and recovery missions throughout the Inner worlds and the Asteroid Belt, while the later organization loosely modelled on the Texas Rangers is concerned with law and order duties within the same sphere, particularly within the scattered colonies and mine heads within the asteroids themselves which have since their inception taken on the aspect of the American Wild West and the British Northwestern Frontier.
