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Lore: Epsilon Eridani System

Overview

A relatively young system, thought to have formed between 400 and 800 million years ago, ε Eridani is the 13th nearest star system to Sol, located 3.2 parsecs from it. It is a single-star system, home to several distinct debris rings still lingering from it's formation, as well as a limited number of terrestrial planets and several gas giants. The notable bodies of the system in order of increasing semi-major axis are:

• Ran - Star

• Baldr - Terrestrial Planet
• Albion - Terrestrial Planet
• Hodr - Terrestrial Planet

• Inner Asteroid Belt - Astronomical Feature

• Aegir - Gas Giant
• Forseti - Gast Giant

• Outer Asteroid Belt - Astronomical Feature

• Thunor - Gas Giant
• Heimdallr - Gas Giant

• Comet Belt - Astronomical Feature

Ran

The single star at the center of the Epsilon Eridani system, Ran is a bright and young star which generates stronger UV and solar winds compared to larger and older Sol. It belongs to the spectral class K2V. The name "Ran" derives from the Old Norse "Rán" (lit.: theft, robbery), a goddess which personified the sea. Generally thought to embody it's dangerous and unfavorable aspects, she was sometimes depicted as killing seafarers by dragging them into the depths with a fishing net. The star's low orbits are largely unoccupied save for solar power collection infrastructure, as well as space weather monitoring and scientific probes.

Baldr

A small and airless terrestrial world, orbiting roughly 0.34 AU from Ran, Baldr is tidally locked in a 2:5 resonance, it's astronomical day is rather long at ~32 days compared to it's ~81 day orbit, leading to a solar day ~54 days long. The extreme thermal environment at the planet's surface, coupled to the proximity to the star and it's powerful stellar winds, leave Baldr ironically overshadowed by the system's plentiful debris rings in the mining sector. The planet holds no permanent population, however it has been previously visited by manned expeditions and been the object of scientific study for nearly as long as the system has been colonized. The planet is named after the Norse god of light, owing to it's proximity to the star, whose death is prophesized to be a harbinger of the end of the world.

Albion

Albion is the only Earth-like planet in the Epsilon Eridani system. Detection of it's earth-like characteristics, most notable of which were the presence of water vapor and oxygen in it's atmosphere, were the very reason the system became one of the first targets Humanity set out to colonize.

Surface Conditions

The planet orbits at roughly 0.71 AU from Ran, weighing 1.3 Earth Masses and with a radius of 1.1 Earth Radii, well as a similar, if marginally richer in oxygen atmosphere. The solar day on Albion is 33 hours and 8 minutes long. Surface temperatures reach as low as -101°C at the poles and as high as 26°C during summer at the equator, although average temperatures in most inhabited areas hover somewhere around 0°C over the course of the year. When it was first colonized, Albion already harbored it's own alien biosphere, although it was primitive compared to Terran life. Oxygen producing bacteria and small land vegetation and fungi were all that were present on land. While an analogue to the Eukaryotic cell had seemingly evolved, the handful of multicellular animal organisms within the planet's cold oceans were only beginning to develop. How such life had developed in so short a timeframe when compared to Terra was both highly unexpected to it's first settlers and still a topic of scientific discussion, although current leading theories are that relatively advanced microbes and possibly even eukaryotic life may have been seeded through panspermia after the planet had cooled from it's formation. Regardless of how it arose, the planet's native life was unfortunately ill-equipped to compete with the Terran specimens brought by the colonization effort, and a significant part of that early life was lost before any attempts at study and preservation could be made. Most of pre-human Eridanian life today exists only within controlled study environments and purpose-made space stations which attempt to emulate the planet's early biosphere. On the surface itself, most of the planet's flora and fauna have been replaced by descendants of the imported Terran examples and gene-edited additions which were considered necessary to stabilize the biosphere during the change, although a handful of the most adaptable of native land and sea life managed to persist into the current day, and were considered best left as they were. The planet's equator harbors a climate not too unlike temperate regions of Terra, although the further away from it one travels it quickly becomes more tundra-like and eventually arctic, with large continental glaciers dominating the planet's higher latitudes completely.

Colonization

While most early colonies did not stray far from the more habitable equator, present-day arcologies on Albion will sometimes stretch into the more desolate high latitudes when needed. Population densities are, in general, low and concentrated around a few major metropolises near the equator. The planet is the capital of the Eridani Alliance, headquartered in Morveren, one of the planet's largest cities, built along the coast of the Galdrygean Ocean, within the region where the first colonists had once landed their shuttles. It's sparser regions, meanwhile, include smaller clusters of towns, cities and standalone arcologies, and are unique within the Epsilon Eridani system given the world's singular status as a habitable, breathable natural environment. One of the reasons for this lack of centralization, which has carried to the Alliance's governing of it's interstellar territories, is the relative heterogeneity of initial settlement. Unlike many of the colonies that arose in the super-luminal age the Eridani awoke to, theirs was a colonization effort of a single, self-contained trip, one with enough numbers to establish many concurrent settlements on the surface, many of which have persisted into the current day.

Notable Locations

Morveren

Morveren and the greater Morveren Region lie on the western shore of the Galdrygean Ocean, only a dozen degrees north of the equator. It is defined by a region of low-relief terrain, extending into the ocean in relatively wide plains and sandy shores, flanked north and south by mountainous and cliff-prone terrain, Additionally, much of this coast is sheltered by a system of islands. This relatively hospitable coast of mild weather and stable, oceanic climate is home to so much of Albion's population and the capital of the Alliance by no coincidence, for it was one of the first areas chosen for landfall by the initial colonists, and was populated by a large basis of colonists from the ship's primary nations. The current-day metropolis which occupies the region, extends from one cliff-lined coast to the other, inland and out to many of the islands just off the shore, and is often the place people who "have been to Albion" have visited. From an urban planning point of view, Morveren is generally considered an expensive and even difficult city to develop, given it's long, comprehensive, and very much strict planning permission requirements, building codes and zoning laws which have only grown in size and complexity over as the city itself has. Save for the densest of downtown areas and islands, population densities quickly drop off when compared to modern Terran counterparts due to a generally lower emphasis on verticality, in addition to many more green spaces, parks, footpaths, and so on, when compared to Terra's wealth of self-contained Arcologies. The city itself is serviced by an extensive subway system, while overland rail is used for further destinations. Architectural styles vary between boroughs within the city, drawn from many of it's originating cultures, and containing everything from modernized reimaginings of old Terran styles to wholly new and contemporary buildings. With one of it's hallmarks being the prominent use of stone still finding currency with private and government structures alike, even when only as a façade material.

Landmarks of Morveren

• Alliance Parliament Complex

Built along an elevated part of the landscape upon the north-western part of the city, the parliamentary complex of the Alliance is the prototypical example of Eridanian Classicist architecture. Clean-cut stone brick and tall, bronze-fixtured windows whose shape retain hints of their distant gothic origins as they loom over it's encircling hedges from nearly a meter above street level. Within it's sprawling halls are housed both chambers of parliament, as well as many other spaces, including but not limited to: meeting rooms, chambers and offices for visiting diplomats and members of government, a press briefing chamber, an intelligence management complex and a closed-access library responsible for archival of Alliance documents, as well as offering members of government access to reference material and research services.

• Orion Confederacy Delegation Office, Epsilon Eridani Branch

An imposing building of trapezoidal shape, it's almost brutalist unadorned metal and glass construction is unlike anything else in the city, to the point of seeming like it's been imported wholesale from Sol. The flags of every human government within OriCon are flown along the concourse before it.

• National Museum of the Alliance Navy

An austere and angular building, designed with large and imposing asymmetrical windows to illuminate it's spacious interior. It contains many examples of Alliance space hardware, exhibits on it's myriad military vessels both current and historical, and a permanent exhibit on the complete history of the ICV Albion, from the first design drafts penned in Sol to photographic and written accounts of the planet's settlement. An Alliance Navy missile frigate is kept at the grounds as a museum ship. Named the ANS Trafalgar, it had been in service up until the late 2550s, where the aging vessel saw limited use in a fire-support role against Xenomorph incursions at the edges of OriCon space before being finally converted into a display piece.

Regnfelt

One of the planet's largest cities, it lies roughly 150km from the eastern shore of the Aettrian Ocean and was built upon the shore of river Heggel. Cold winds from the region's predominantly humid continental climate whistle in from beyond the nearby dormant volcano, Mt. Sovendefjell, and blanket the region in heavy snowfall every winter. Much more geographically constrained than Morveren thanks to the nearby mountainous terrain, the city is home to some of Albion's tallest structures, while underground tunnels and partially open-air areas below ground-level are relatively common. Outdoors areas in Regnfelt are often particularly recognizable for their prominent use of local basalt and other dark volcanic stone given their convenient weathering resistance, although many newer buildings have begun adopting the material alongside other similarly dark palettes for their aesthetic appeal and contrast to the snow, leading it to become a hallmark of the city within recent centuries. Unlike most of the planet of Albion, and indeed, the whole system of Epsilon Eridani itself, Regnfelt's demographics are skewed in favor of many of the system's less represented cultures, particularly those of Scandinavian descent, having been initially established by a small, but still significant conclave of such peoples from the ICV Albion.

Landmarks of Regnfelt

• Stratton Medical Inc. Headquarters

Not merely a building, but a sprawling campus of R&D and healthcare laboratories leading up the slight incline to the company's administrative center, a towering monolith of black-tinted glass bearing it's rather aesclepian logo, wherein the snake forms a recognizable "S". Although now a subsidiary of Vey-Med Orion, SMI had once quickly established itself as one of the largest medical corporations of Epsilon Eridani in it's early days thanks to the popularity and thus sheer demand for genemodding services, of which their founders were quick to capitalize upon. However, once initial demand lessened, their expansion into the market of general healthcare came too late to prevent purchase by the, by that point, much better-established OriCon branch of the Skrellian megacorporation.

• Kentwell University's Museum of Natural History

A wide, corinthian building found within the University's grounds. It's limestone neoclassical facade and vaulted ceilings are separated like ribs by tall, modern windows on shining steel frames, often to low, dramatic lighting at night. The museum itself is one of the most complete sources of information on Albion as a planet, including exhibits on extinct and/or fossilized alien flora and fauna from before human colonization, the geological history of the region and especially of Mt. Sovendefjell, and much more.

• Loch Morkh

A freshwater lake amidst the mountains, not all too far from Regnfelt. It's peaceful shore and the surrounding nigh-untouched wilderness are a common tourist destination for those visiting the city or wishing for a break from it's monumental, looming skyscrapers. The region is considered a natural heritage site by the Alliance government. It is closely studied for insights into the region's geology and due to it's location within a tectonic subduction zone.

Other Locations

Albion is Epsilon Eridani's sole habitable world, and where the vast majority planet-bound Eridanians live. There are dozens of other large metropolitan centers not listed here, and uncountable numbers of smaller cities and towns spread over it's many continents, especially along equatorial regions, each with their own history and character.

Hodr

The only inner-system dwarf planet, Hodr is a small airless world near the inner limits of the system's innermost asteroid belt, generally thought to have formed alongside it. Although initially colonized for it's concentration of mineral resources, it's position at the edge of the asteroid belt has seen it become a major logistical center for belt mining and interplanetary trade. Although metals and other raw resources are still moved in great quantities through it, they are far from the only goods to do so in the present day. In ancient Norse legend, Hodr is the old norse god of darkness and winter, the blind brother of Baldr, who is tricked into slaying his brother by the trickster god Loki.

Inner Asteroid Belt

The innermost of the system's asteroid belts, it extends from roughly 1.5 to 2.5 AU from the star. Being a relatively young star system, Epsilon Eridani contains many more small astronomical bodies and general debris from it's formation compared to Sol. This plentiful supply of easily accessed resources has been exploited since the settling of the system given the need to provide Albion with orbital infrastructure, and such a need has only grown as the system developed. Today, the Inner Belt is the main supplier of materials to most space-based projects and industry, such as the myriad families of orbital habitats the outer system is known for.

Aegir

A gas giant of roughly 0.8 Jupiter masses orbiting at the outer limit of the system's inner asteroid belt, this was the first planet to be detected in it's roughly 3.5 au orbit around Ran. It's orbital space houses myriad moons and hundreds of space stations, ranging from hydrogen depots near the giant to distant families or "fleets" of civilian facilities. Overall, Aegir and it's many moons form a local subsystem which contains the majority of the system's space-bound population. In Norse myth, Aegir is a personification of the ocean and husband to Ran, whose children are referred to as the waves of the sea.

Outer System

Although not completely uninhabited, the outer regions of Epsilon Eridani contain only a very small fraction of the system's population, as few people have a need to venture beyond Aegir and fewer still to cross the Outer Asteroid Belt to the lonely gas giants that lie at the system's edge.