Centauri system

The Centauri System consists of five planets and three known jump points surrounding a large Type A main sequence star. Centauri was one of the first systems settled during Humanity’s initial period of interstellar expansion. It was discovered in 2365 by a dedicated survey ship that immediately recognized the tremendous colonization potential of the third planet. The flag was quickly planted on Centauri III and land there was immediately offered at a premium to colonial outfitting groups. The result was Saisei, one of the most beautiful and well-constructed Human worlds in the UEE. In the development process, the other worlds in the system went largely ignored. In the ensuing centuries, scattered resources have been discovered on these other worlds and more scattershot development has taken place.

Centauri I
Centauri’s innermost world is a tiny protoplanet that orbits very close to the star. Centauri I has no atmosphere and no mine-able resources. The close-up view of Centauri’s star from orbit, however, is overwhelming. A well-known photograph (commonly available as a post card) taken by the initial system survey ship shows the blue-white star with a prominence reaching out to seemingly grab the tiny planet.

Yar : Centauri II
Centauri II, called Yar, was initially a Venusian world that has since been terraformed by the UEE. Its proximity to the sun makes for an arid environment, and the planet is largely covered by the Red Desert, decidedly its identifying feature from orbit. Yar is dotted with research stations, commercial layover points and abandoned settlements, many of which are coated in the planet’s fine red sand (and a significant number of which are being reclaimed entirely by the Red Desert). Although it’s not quite a ghost planet, many visitors report being left with a sense of unease among its abandoned facilities.

Why is there development in the first place? Yar underwent an unexpected land grab roughly a century ago after valuable precious minerals were located in a mountain range. These claims petered out quickly, and Human civilization on the planet has been in a clear decline since. The world’s largest landing pad is Archibald Station, a scientific outpost that grew into a small town and then shrank back to an outpost as interest in the planet waned. Other landing zones on the planet continue to remain functional, although unmaintained. Enough infrastructure remains on the planet to support passing spacecraft, although the small population needs only essentials from traders.

Saisei : Centauri III
Constructed to balance nature, human habitation and industry, the Governer's Council of Saisei enforces a population cap in order to protect the planet's carefully planned and cultivated environment. Businesses who wish to operate on world, like ship manufacturer MISC whose headquarters are in Fujin City, must adhere to strict environmental regulations as well.

Centauri IV
Centauri IV is a rocky world with one interesting feature: it completely lacks a molten core. As a coreless world, the planet never developed an electromagnetic field and was never able to retain a serious atmosphere (archaeological studies have revealed that it had a limited atmosphere for some time, but that solar wind impacts ultimately fully eliminated it roughly three thousand years ago). Due to its proximity to the system’s asteroid belt, Centauri IV has been heavily impacted by asteroidal strikes. The world is considered a potential candidate for terraforming, albeit a very poor one: the need for special technology and resources to construct a core would be an incredibly expensive and technically difficult proposition.

Centauri V
The system’s outermost planet, Centauri V, is a massive Super Jupiter, a red and yellow gas giant several times the size of those normally encountered. The world’s atmosphere makes an excellent stop-over for long-haul transports seeking fuel, but it has not been otherwise developed.

Asteroid Belts
Beyond Centauri IV lies a dense asteroid belt, the only one in the system. Although the Centauri Belt contains enough mass to form a planet, for whatever reason it has never come together. The region is rich in standard heavy metals, and pop-up mining bases frequently appear to support Saisei’s heavy industry.