The Moons of Jupiter

History

Early in Era-1, when the Solar System was being settled, simple life was discovered on Jupiter's moon, Europa.  Beneath the surface ice there was a tidally warmed sea, and a research station was set up to study it.  

Next the Planetary League decided to terraform Ganymede and Callisto using precisely planned asteroid and comet impacts.  Through careful tending, these moons became habitable, and acted as a forward base for further exploration.  Io, being highly geologically active, was deemed too unstable for terraforming, but a few small outposts and mining operations did spring up there.  Due to the hazards of mining on Io, the Tardigrades were founded, as a search and rescue operation.

Ganymede became the capitol of the Jovian system, and Callisto became the commercial center.  Both Ganymede and Callisto had significant agriculture to support themselves and the other moons.  Most industrial operations were carried out in space colonies, or on the smaller moons. 

Jupiter's smaller moons were mined for raw materials, and a group of thriving colonies emerged.   

Over time, Jupiter's moons attracted members of the Steampunk community, and the area became known as the Clockwork Empire.  Although the Jovian colonies remained a part of the Planetary League, they developed a strong local culture that resembled a more fantastical version of Victorian England.

During the Great Reckoning, the Jovian system was captured by the Holy Empire of Man.  The resistance was significant, but the HEM had vastly superior numbers.  During Era-2, the moons of Jupiter became a manufacturing center for the HEM.

During the War of the Gods, the Jovian moons rose up and joined with the forces of Troniac, due to the largely robotic workforce that worked there.  

In Era-3, the moons of Jupiter became part of the Galactic Republic by popular vote.

New Albuquerque

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Locale

New Albuquerque is an arid, terrestrial world near the center of the galaxy. Situated in the middle of a “stellar graveyard” where black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs and magnetars slowly decay. Orbiting the star known as Saurex, New Albuquerque has an 18-hour day and a long and checkered history.

History

Orbiting in the warmer part of Saurex's habitable zone, New Albuquerque is dominated by desert biomes.  Two large seas, one in the northern hemisphere, and one in the southern, hold most of the planet's water.  Each of these seas has an associated "rain band", an area spanning around the planet, at the latitudes of the sea with increased rainfall and corresponding biomes.  Several large mountain ranges cross the planet, mainly oriented north-south.  New Albuquerque has three significant moons.

A rare tripple-full moon with the Copper Moon, the Chalk Moon and the Jade Moon all fully visible.

Life evolved on New Albuquerque, finding its most complex expression in the race of Vorgons (also known pejoratively as Gobblins, little green men, etc) that originated in the jungles around the southern sea.  Life is densest right around the seas, with the rain-bands being dominated by grassland with scattered forests.  The deserts that dominate the landscape are not entirely barren, but have a sparse covering of life.

When the Vorgons were a new species, still in their paleolithic age, a large piece of debris struck the ocean, rapidly removing most of the water on the surface of New Albuquerque.

Because of its location, New Albuquerque is at the center of a lot of cosmic storms, and spaceships often crash there.  The first real contact with interstellar civilization was during the 1,000 Years War, when the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns military set up a base on the planet. At that time, the vorgons were living at a tribal level of organization, and had some limited interaction and trade with the Empire.  

New Albuquerque was the location of the Battle of the Three Moons during the 1,000 Years War.

After the war, the E1MS used New Albuquerque as a scrap yard.  The Gobblinoids (Vorgons) rapidly took to scavenging and re-purposing the cast-off technology they found.   

Midway through Era-1, a colony ship from the Planetary League crash-landed there, setting up an impromptu colony, and giving the planet its name.  The original name of the planet in the most common Gobblinoid language translated to "The Teeth of God", and referred to the sharp and forbidding mountains surrounding their homeland.  

Because of its isolated location and harsh environment, New Albuquerque remained as a holdout of the Planetary League throughout Era-2.  During the Great Reckoning, the population ballooned from the stream of refugees from the Planetary League.  On a few occasions, there were skirmishes with, and raiding parties from the Holy Empire of Man.  The Empire of Man even occupied the planet for a few brief periods, only to be repulsed by uncooperative locals and asymmetrical warfare.  

During the War of Galactic Unification, the people of New Albuquerque elected to join the Galactic Republic.

Landmarks

The Main Debris Zone is a place that has been used as a scrap-heap since late in the 1,000 Years War.

Reactor Springs is a place where natural reactors underground heat a system of hot springs.

The Stilted City is a city built in a lake bed that is dry half the year, and is built on stilts.

 Tornado Point  is a place where a standing atmospheric vortex persists year-round.

The Valley of the Avatar is the local center of the Cult of Troniac.

Life-forms

Vorgons are the most numerous (and only native) intelligent species, though humans and cielioids tend to dominate the affairs of the planet.

The Orgaff is a large pack-animal that stores water and nutrients to traverse the desert.

The Saurexian rock-toad is a descendant of Earth toads.

The vase-tree is a source of both food and water to those crossing the planet's extensive deserts.

Related Stories

Awakening a tale of self-realization on New Albuquerque

Earth

History

In the near future, due to numerous factors, life on Earth becomes very difficult.  A changing climate brings increased warfare.  A host of new diseases arise.  The economy crashes.  With the arrival of affordable space travel, the construction of large-scale space habitats, and the colonization of nearby bodies, people leave the Earth in droves, seeking a better life elsewhere.  A great diaspora ensues, and the remaining governments unite with the United Nations to clean up and restore the economy on our home planet.

Later, Earth’s position as the main hub of commerce and communication among the inhabited planets led it to become the capitol of the Planetary League.  Earth remained the capitol, growing in wealth and sophistication throughout Era-1 until it fell at the close of the Great Reckoning.

After the Great Reckoning, the Emperor maintained a palace on Earth, even though the capitol of the Holy Empire of Man remained on Gabriel, where it was founded.  The holy cities and sites of Earth thronged with pilgrims seeking miracles, and a very substantial garrison was built up.

Earth was liberated by the Galactic Republic in one of the major battles of the War of Galactic Unification.

One of the unique features of the Earth is its single large moon, which is considered a sign of good luck in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.

Landmarks

Supercollider, TX is a town that exists between dimensions.

Paradise

History

Paradise was one of the first planets to be colonized outside the Solar System.  It is a terrestrial planet, covered by about 75% water.  Most of the land is in the form of islands, with two small continents as well.  The planet has very little axial tilt, so most of the surface is in the tropical zone, with temperate zones near the poles.  Paradise has no ice caps.  The gravity on Paradise is slightly less than on Earth.  Like Earth, Paradise does have a significant magnetic field that shields the surface from radiation.

When first explored, the biosphere of Paradise consisted solely of microscopic organisms.  Despite its simplicity, the biosphere of Paradise was quite old, and the planet had a large reserve of petroleum in the ground from sedimentary activity.  Since it lacked multi-cellular organisms, Paradise did not have soil suitable for farming, but imported plants and animals took over and the planet was quickly covered in swamps and jungles.

The Planetary League set up a research outpost early on.  Soon, corporate colonization followed, largely to exploit the planet’s petroleum.  Neo-Polynesia was a portion of the planet that was set aside as a new home for Polynesians displaced by rising ocean levels.  There was also an Edenite commune that sprang up early on. Paradise was also a major resettlement site for the Ki’tak (Red Takarrans) during the lead up to the Second Robot War, eventually supporting the largest community of them in the galaxy.

Mega-cities sprang up on several islands, and over time the atmosphere grew quite polluted.  For a long time Paradise was a relatively lawless place, full of pirates, smugglers, vice and corruption.

Eventually, the Planetary League stepped in with terraforming equipment to clean up the oceans and atmosphere, and the colonial marines to stop the lawlessness.  As a result, Paradise joined the Planetary League.  The Planetary League undertook a soil-conditioning program as part of the terraforming effort, and Paradise became a major exporter of various crops that grow in tropical climates. 

Paradise was the birthplace of the Emperor of the Holy Empire of Man.

In the Great Reckoning Paradise was overwhelmed by the superior numbers of the Empire of Man, and fell quickly.    

A significant battle was fought on paradise during the War of the Gods.

In the War of Galactic Unification, the population was convinced to join the Galactic Republic, with only minimal resistance from Imperial forces.