Phobos

Phobos is the capital city of the Gaean System, built on the remains of larger of Mars' two moons. Around five hundred years after the discovery of the Snow Door, a meteor struck Phobos and destroyed several Martian cities. Toska Mining Corp (now Toska R&D) won the contract to begin excavations of deep-space minerals around the moon's crash site, turning Phobos into a workers' satellite and powerful off-shore industry hub.

Generations later, Toska's wealthy CEO Malacai Tzova petitioned the Gaean political units to appoint Phobos as the System's administrative centre and political capital. Citing the proximity to the Snow Door, the growth of competitive industry, and physical and emotional closeness to Earth, Tzova won his bid (his real motivations had been to convince his daughter, Kapeka, to visit home more often) and work began to save Phobos from its degenerative orbit.

The city was ultimately anchored over Olympus Mons, where the Palatine would be built during the next century. In the present day, Phobos is the cultural, political and economic centre of the entire System, home to a diverse population of humans, seed-species, robots and non-physical AIs.