((Here we are, folks, a little info I've culled together and posted here for quick and easy reference.))
Places of Interest:
Sol – Close Solar Approach project is in progress
Mercury – Quicksilver mines have been established on the “day side” of Mercury. The UEG has set up a permanent base in the shadow of the Caloris Basin following the discovery of an underground alien complex in the basin itself. The UEG will stake a claim to the ruins and continue explorations long term. Additionally, they will conduct experiments on new DNA re-writes made easier by the helix-warping radiation of the Sun (rumors also swirl that the UEG is attempting to splice alien DNA – extracted from ancient mummies found in the ruins – to the human genome). [Gravity: Low Atmo: None]
Venus – Dante Station is built (and now operational) in low orbit around Venus. Dante Station was primarily a scientific research facility built to continue study of the planet and the ruins of the ancient alien prison (commonly known as Nieth) located there and has also served as a repair and refueling station for ships en route to mercury. Since the end of the Jovian Wars and given the increased efforts applied to the mining of Quicksilver in the years that have followed, Dante Station has continued to expand yearly and is now a major hub in the system. [Gravity: Normal Atmo: Corrosive, Thick, Toxic]
Earth – Project Aegis (the development, utilization, and marketing of Quicksilver drives) is well underway and, as the Jovian Wars slip further into history, the Frontier expands beyond Jupiter by leaps and bounds; first focusing on the Saturnine moons and then working towards Uranus and beyond. The UEG begins to seriously focus on planned missions to nearby stars outside of the Sol system. The UEG and the extraterrestrial colonies have also begun to set aside their past differences. Negotiators have begun formal talks to bring representatives of the Coalition and the Jovians into the United Earth Assembly. [Gravity: Normal Atmo: Normal]
- Luna – Coalition scientists have begun a secret project to graft alien DNA to the human genome. Fearing that UEG scientists at Caloris Basin are conducting similar experiments, the Mueller Institute begins trials on the next stage in human evolution. [Gravity: Low Atmo: None]
Mars – Mars is officially off limits; a closed world due to rising occurrences of the Martian Plague (or “Red Death” as it is colloquially called). Only members of the scientific and military teams (commanded by Admiral Niles Antilles of the UEG) are permitted to land or lift off from the red planet. [Gravity: Normal Atmo: Thin]
Jupiter (Jove) – While the technology to skim the quicksilver “mother lode” deep within Jupiter’s violent atmosphere is decades away, a maverick scientist believes he has built a craft capable of penetrating Jove’s Eye and extracting the rich deposits of Quicksilver it contains. This scientist is currently trying to recruit pilots and scientists to help him test the craft. [Gravity: Low Atmo: Gas Giant]
- Ganymede – Following the Jovian Wars Ganymede’s population has exploded to over 100 million. The major settlements on Ganymede are (in order of population): Gilgamesh, Isis, Memphis, and Nadaba. Numerous smaller domes are scattered around the planet usually built to house a mining camp or archaeological expedition of the moon’s extensive ruins. [Gravity: Low Atmo: Thin (but not breathable)]
- Europa – Home of the Europans…. [Gravity:Normal Atmo: Normal]
- Callisto – The notorious UEG/Corporate military interment/reeducation camp formerly located here has been dismantled since the end of the Jovian War but the military spaceport over Valhalla remains and Callisto has the second highest population of the Jovian moons. The biggest settlements are the domed cities built in the moon’s two enormous craters, Valhalla and Asgard. Callisto is an important ice mining and water refining center in the Jovian system. [Gravity: low Atmo: none]
- Io – Io is the most volcanically active body in the Sol system and is a hellish, tortured world that changes from month to month, with earthquakes, volcanoes appearing virtually overnight, and lakes of molten lava bubbling up from the surface. These lakes, called “witch’s brew” by the colonists are an important and lucrative source of rare metals. Pilots flying “skimmers” are used to skim these lakes in ships designed to extract the valuable materials and eject the rest into space. Today, most of this work is done by free androids (many of whom were originally designed for these specific tasks but, after the liberation of the Jovian colonies, now enjoy lucrative pay for their work). Io has very few settlements and all of them are designed to be stripped and moved quickly as conditions on the planet change from day to day. [Gravity: Low Atmo: Toxic]
Saturn – Exploration of Saturn’s moons is tricky business because of the requests made by The Prime of Europa. Some of the moons are colonies of The Prime and the protection of Saturn’s indigenous life – the primitive Titanians - from human interference and exploitation is a key goal of the Prime.
The discovery of a secret Coalition base on Iapetus, which was studying the planet Titan with an eye toward beginning exploration of the moon, ushered The Prime into the Jovian War on the side of the rebellious colonists. Umber Grey has decided to leave Saturn alone entirely for now, although the Coalition has stated it has no plans to remove their base on Iapetus. They claim the base is “only there to study Titan, a world unlike any other in the Sol system.” [Gravity: Low Atmo: Gas Giant]
- Titan – Subsequent to the start of the Jovian War, the Coalition was studying the planet from the moon Iapetus. These studies and the limited information that The Prime have been willing to provide have given a picture of the moon that has startled and intrigued UEG and Corporate scientists. A world where ethane has replaced water yet life somehow (by methods not completely understood by modern science) has not only developed but also thrived and reached sentience.
This world contains a single continent, Xanadu, surrounded by a massive ocean of liquid ethane. The intelligent inhabitants of Xanadu are a tribal, Stone Age culture, hunting massive beasts on a world locked in an ice age. Although The Prime monitor this world telepathically (just as they monitored the Earth) they are unwilling to share any more information and have proven willing to commit their considerable military might to Titan’s protection. It would seem, for the time being, that Titan and its mysterious life forms will remain a mystery. [Gravity: Normal Atmo: Toxic]
Uranus – Uranus has over 25 moons, all but 5 of which are much too small to make viable sites for colonization. These five moons remain largely unexplored even after the Jovian War and little is known of them. Unlike the other moons in the Sol system, the moons of Uranus are named after characters and Pope rather than characters from mythology. The five largest moons are: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon.
Even now, Uranus remains an out of the way locale. Exploration in other solar systems, opening up by advancements in Quicksilver FTL drives, even has more allure than spending time here. However, as the population of the Sol system continues to expand, small groups who like their privacy will doubtless migrate here, seeking their own world where they can conduct their affairs without government or Corporate interference, only needing contact with the occasional supply ship. [Gravity: Low Atmo: Gas Giant]
Neptune – Neptune, despite being further out than Uranus will probably be explored more thoroughly. The occasional vortex storm, similar to Jove’s Eye reveals the existence of Quicksilver in the gas giant’s atmosphere. However there are insufficient quantities of the material to fuel a permanent reaction and these storms collapse in on themselves until sufficient material builds up in the planet’s atmosphere to spark another storm.
Neptune also draws more interest from explorers because of its one large moon, Triton. This moon, almost four times the size of Uranus’ largest moon, has a crust of about 25% ice and a thin atmosphere, making it a very good candidate for colonization. Triton is also volcanically active but the moon is so cold (as cold as Pluto) that the volcanoes actually spew frozen material leading them to be dubbed “ice volcanoes”. [Gravity: Low Atmo: Gas Giant]
- Triton -- As interest in further exploration of the Sol system takes a backseat in UEG and Corporate resources to beginning to explore the cosmos, a small religious group travels to Triton proclaiming this world to be their order’s “promised land.” This group is an offshoot of the infamous Last Generation terrorist organization that has renounced violence in favor of an apocalyptic religion blending elements of Christianity, Islam, and the Prime Order of the Europans. The UEG does not recognize this group’s sovereignty over Triton but, since there are no immediate plans for the world, evicting them seems a waste of resources.
Pluto - Pluto is (usually) the most distant planet from Sol and by far the smallest. In fact there are seven moons in the Sol system larger than Pluto (Luna, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto, Titan and Triton). Pluto’s orbit sometimes crosses that of Neptune, meaning that the two planets trade the honor of being the most distant on occasion.
Pluto actually has an atmosphere and a companion body (named Charon). Charon is not a true moon, since the two bodies both rotate around a mutual center of gravity (as opposed to Charon orbiting Pluto). Despite its distance and extreme temperatures (the planet’s average temperature is between 38 and 63 degrees Kelvin or between 390 and 346 degrees below zero Fahrenheit) Pluto has been inhabited since late in the Age of Discovery by a small scientific team. The planet hosts the Deep Space Observatory, the most powerful and sophisticated telescope array in the human history, staffed entirely by Astronomers (a rewrite commissioned by the UEG specifically to staff the DSO).
This observatory has made many amazing discoveries about the universe. Unfortunately, many of these discoveries have been suppressed by the UEG, making scientists who wish to discuss their findings publicly subject to intimidation and worse. The most troubling rumors about what these suppressed findings might be swirl around the Galaxy M-87, which has one of the most prominent jet features ever discovered (a jet is matter ejected at speeds near the speed of light due to contact with an extremely large gravity well- in this case a black hole). It is commonly conjectured that the DSO has detected signs that this jet is used as a transport medium (much like an ancient river would be used for trade only on an interstellar scale) by an alien civilization. Some take their conjecture a step further and suggest that not only have they seen evidence the jet is used for propulsion but that they have discovered it was artificially created.
Shadows of the Empire Q&A
Shadows of the Empire
Shadows of the Empire - R
Reralae's A'niorna
Billy's flying escort for a colonist caravan heading for one of the Saturnine moons, perhaps, and Tawny's currently a navigator aboard a UEG ship? 
Ken is currently shooting "Ken's Kosmic Kicks" - a health/fitness/self-defense sort of show - on Callisto. Since Callisto is also in the Jovian System, he is also very close... Just a moon or so away. Rowan being on Earth puts her roughly four days to a week from Ganymede (the girl's got cash, though, so I'm betting she can find a ride that'll get her there in three). Maru is the farthest away at the DSO on Pluto... she's a week plus out from Ganymede on the easy side. Not 100% sure where Billy might be, but within a week or so - barring any complications - you should all be able to get to the reading of the will. 
...ya just never know.
