Pallas III

The infamous moment of first contact between Humanity and the Xi’an took place on this terrestrial world. At the time, the Xi’an were already using it as a testbed for various geohacking and terraforming technologies. Such scientific endeavors were abandoned when the Xi’an fled the system during the cold war, only to be resumed after tensions eased.

The specifics of these experiments are unclear. What’s apparent is that several parts of the planet are filled with smoke, supposedly due to a massive underground fire. Whether this raging fire is part of a Xi’an experiment or merely a side effect is unknown.

"Honestly, it was the most incredible and embarrassing moment in my life. Seeing those strange ships swoop down nearby just froze me, I was so in awe. I’d never seen anything quite like it. Then I remembered what we were doing there and realized we were in big trouble."

- Charles Baxter, transcript of testimony before the UPE tribunal, 2530