Artanis 4

Artanis 4 is one of the core worlds of the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns.  It is home-world to the Nalorgians, and the birthplace of Kroah Dashan. When General Zarlok turned traitor, Artanis 4 was where the attack took place.

Geography

Artanis 4 has three main continents.  One of these was naturally covered in ponds and shallow lakes, because of several ice ages in the planet's history.  This created the natural habitat that the Nalorgians needed to evolve.  As they spread out across the planet, the other continents were quickly landscaped into a similar mold.  Most of the surface is covered in ocean.

History

Artanis 4 had a large population of native Nalorgians before the arrival of the E1MS.  The most technically advanced of these lived at about the level of the industrial revolution.  After the arrival of the Empire, the whole planet was rapidly industrialized with a robotic workforce.  The Empire created the Grand Nalaxian, a sentient complex of spawning-pools to serve as planetary governor shortly after conquering the planet.

  On several occasions, the Nalorgians rebelled, only to relent when the Empire shut down the industries it had created. 

Later, but before the 1,000 Years War, Artanis 4 was the home planet of Kroah Dashan, the prolific inventor.

During the 1000 Years War, the Grand Nalaxian created the Nalaxian Code, an algorithm that could shield robots from the influence of Troniac.

After the 1,000 Years War, General Zarlok, once revered as a war hero, set off a neutron pulse device in one of the more populous cities, killing millions of civilians.  Also in the post-war period, many Nalorgians, tired of Imperial rule, left the Empire, mostly joining with Ool-Tyr pirates to create the Nomad Armies.

Artanis 4 was conquered by the Holy Empire of Man during the War of the Empires.

Artanis 4 was conquered by the Galactic Republic during the War of Galactic Unification.

Life Forms

Gearwood trees are a native species, prized for their solid wood, which was used extensively in the clockwork creations of the Nalorgians.

Nalorgians are native to Artanis 4.

Points of Interest

The Grand Nalaxian on Artanis 4's largest continent was both the planetary governor, and a vast repository of knowledge.

The Bell of Remembrance

High, on the lonely edge of the Mariner Valley, near the site of the Mariner Valley Incident, on the surface of Mars, stands The Bell of Remembrance, a large, bronze sculpture commissioned to mark the 100th anniversary of the Incident in GSC 116.  The Mariner valley incident was a major event in the early history of the Tardigrades, and many Tardigrades make a pilgrimage to the site.

View fullsize

Mars

The first planet to be colonized, Mars early became the second most populous planet after Earth.  Mars was one of the founding members of the Planetary League.

The Mariner Valley Incident in GSC 16 was a huge landslide that killed many colonists, and an important early event in the history of the Tardigrades. 

One hundred years after the Mariner Valley Incident, a large, bronze sculpture, called "The Bell of Remembrance" was placed at the site.

Mars was the birthplace of Amadeus Krieg.

History

GSC 58, The Cydonia Incident: A group of Markovian researchers was caught performing unethical experiments, turning public opinion against the Markovians.

During the Great Reckoning, Mars was conquered by the Holy Empire of Man.

During the War of Galactic Unification, Mars joined the Galactic Republic.

Due to the slow process of terraforming an entire planet’s atmosphere, large-scale urbanization preceded blue skies on Mars by thousands of years.

New Promise

View fullsize

Geography

New Promise is a temperate world with two main moons, Wen ( short for Wenchang Wang: 文昌王 ) and Caishen  (財神).  The planet itself is dominated by two major east-west oriented continents ideal for farming with most of the land consisting of gently rolling plains, punctuated by numerous river deltas.

  The Capitol of the Planetary League settlement was Annan City (named for Kofi Annan, an early leader of the United Nations).  The major cities in Planetary League territory included Annan City, Alexandria, New Clinton, Franklin City, New Denver, Union Delta, Port Sushi, Key Center, and New Alvarez.

Annan City was the first city in human-controlled space to achieve a population of over one billion.  Port Sushi was named for the abundant, high-quality seafood found nearby, off the coast.

History

First reached by human explorers in GSC 130, New Promise is a very Earth-like world.  It was the first world discovered by the Planetary League that was immediately suitable to agriculture. New Promise was discovered at a time when the human population was exploding, and agricultural lands were straining at their limits to feed everyone.  Upon discovery, various scientific surveys and studies were rapidly undertaken before starting full-scale agriculture.  Where possible, care was taken to preserve local ecosystems, but the nutritional needs of the core-worlds dominated the development of the planet.

New Promise was settled before any official contact had been made with intelligent alien species.  First contact was made as a result of the First Convergence War, a conflict between the settlers (backed by the Planetary League) and a group greys from the Convergence who had set up an outpost nearby.  The Convergence was trying to dissuade human settlement because of the radio noise that comes along with human settlements, and interferes with their hive-minds.

At the height of the war, during the Battle of Key Center, the Planetary League battleship Le Guin fired her massive dispersion gun while still technically below the horizon at the Convergence mother-ship, instantly carving 100 Meter Canyon (named for the exact width of the dispersion beam, which, not coincidentally, is also the width of the canyon) in the flank of the Burton Range, south-west of Key Center.

The 100 Meter Canyon

The Edenites set up a colony and nature preserve early on, called Silvernote Hollow.  The capitol was Potterton, named after Beatrix Potter.

The rogue planet Dogur-dann was discovered in the vicinity of the New Promise system in GSC 138, the home-world of the Dogarri that had been flung out of its original system.  This led to the passage of the Alien Assistance Act of GSC 139.

Over time, New Promise developed many other industries beyond agriculture, and large cities grew there.  New Promise was the location of the first city in human-controlled space to house over one billion people, Alexandria.

New Promise was the birthplace of Zoe Bonnard, one of the most famous explorers of the Planetary League.

The economy relied too heavily on automation and robotic labor, leading in time to several robotic uprisings inspired, and encouraged by the Cult of Troniac.

New Promise remained an important agricultural world throughout Eras 1,2,and3. 

Notable Native Life-forms

Fire-grass is a plant that bursts into flames when it comes into contact with uric acid.

Glogvine is a small plant with edible seed-pods, found in highland areas.

Pixielamp is a short grass with bioluminescent flowers.

The Squidbeast is a large predator. The biggest populations of which live on the arid steppes between Franklin City, Annan City, and Alexandria.

The Crystal Canyon

The Crystal Canyon is an unusual geological formation found on Aldebaran 2.  Essentially, it is a gigantic geode, embedded in the ground, that is open on top, giving those who stand on the rim of the canyon a breathtaking view.

The composition of the crystals varies considerably along the canyon's length, giving them a wide variety of colors, and some parts of the canyon contain fluorescent minerals that glow at night.  

The Crystal Canyon is also the home of a unique ecosystem with a number of species that only live there.

The Crystal Canyon is a site of considerable geological research efforts by the university, and also a tourist attraction.  

Reactor Springs

On the planet New Albuquerque, in the mountains west of Colony City, there is a place known as Reactor Springs.  Reactor Springs is a system of hot springs heated by natural reactors that formed in the ground.  Some claim that the radioactive waters provide health benefits, but not those with a working knowledge of medicine. 

When it was first discovered by the colonists, a town grew up around the site, and it was used as a water source, since New Albuquerque is a planet dominated by dry climates.  The springs were also used as a source of geothermal energy.  When the true nature of the springs was discovered, the town became a ghost town, with a few people remaining behind to operate the geothermal plant.  A few squatters and the occasional recluse still make Reactor Springs their home, but use the water at their own peril.

Later, in Era-2, a small deposit of antimatter crystals was discovered near Reactor Springs, and a couple small mining operations opened up to extract them.

Mefitis

Description

Mefitis, named for the Roman goddess of poisonous gasses from the Earth, is a rather Earth-like planet.  It has two main moons, and rotates at about 1/3 the speed of the Earth, with about twice the gravity.  Mefitis also has an unusual biosphere.

The life-forms of Mefitis are roughly as complex as terrestrial plants and animals, with the apex species being similar to terrestrial lizards.  The thing that makes them unique is the fact that the organic molecules they are based on are primarily prions, (differently folded versions of common organic molecules that can infect cells with the normal versions of that molecule).  Perhaps because of this, the plants and animals of Mefitis generally have vaguely unsettling appearances.  The organic pigments that color them are slightly different from those on most planets, their movements are strange, and their forms seem slightly wrong.  

History

When explorers from the Planetary League first reached Mefitis, they quickly discovered the nature of the biosphere, and placed the whole planet under strict quarantine.  Unfortunately, ambitious bio-prospectors from Cosmid had arrived first, and several deadly infections had been accidentally set loose upon the galaxy, including the dreaded Mefitis Plague, (also known as the zombie virus).  A tightly controlled and quarantined research station was set up, mainly focused on curing those same diseases.

During Era-2, after the Holy Empire of Man took over, Mefitis became a prime source for its horrific biological weapons.

Tornado Point

Landmark

On the planet New Albuquerque, north and a little to the east of Colony City, there is a place where the high mountains give way to the scorched desert plains.  In particular, a mountain canyon opens up, with a lonely rock prominence overlooking the barren waste.  Next to this cliff, stands a cyclonic vortex that never abates.  Because of the natural mixing of the air masses of the desert and the mountain range combined with the unique topology of the landscape, this tornado is a permanent fixture.  

The tornado weakens overnight, and is weaker in the winter than the summer, but it never goes away completely.

The local government set up an observation area, where tourists can go and see Tornado Point at a safe distance, and it draws a small number of tourists on a regular basis.