Notable Worlds

There are many planets in USC and Merine space, as well as a great many that have been detected but not visited. This page serves to catalog planets that have military, scientific, or historical significance in the ongoing conflict with Merine forces.

Geulid
A large, cold planet located in the Auron system. First colonized in 3441/10, it was one of the first planets to agree to induction into the USC.

Planetary Makeup
Geulid is fairly large as far as rocky planets go. Almost 90% of its surface is frozen water, with the remaining 10% being comprised of steep, snow-covered mountains. Despite these harsh conditions, Geulid enjoys a thriving aquatic biosphere under its layers of sheet ice. Thermal vents distribute nutrients to abyssal wildlife, as well as powering native subaquatic dwellings. The lithosphere below is rich in copper and lithium, as well as containing a substantial gold core.

History
Geulid was discovered by the astronomer Yailam Phinid in 3402/10. They theorized that it was a frozen planet just within the habitable zone of the star Auron, relatively close to their home system of Yorhe. After several decades of extensive research, a colonization team was sent to Geulid in 3440/10 to establish a base camp and search for life. It wasn't until the following year that the team was able to penetrate the planet's ice sheets and discover life swimming beneath the surface. Following this successful colonization, USC commerce specialists developed Geulid into a thriving tourist attraction, advertising its "excellent skiing climate".

Role in the Lunar Incursions
In 5530/11, the first MERA probe was detected entering USC space on a course for Geulid. The unit successfully scanned the planet and summoned the second wave of MANA units, which were forcibly intercepted and held on Geulid's first moon, Mayi. This altercation lead to the Mayi Massacre, where eight prison guards were slain. From there, the MANA units established a crude MICA unit factory, which was reinforced several times by Merine dropships of MANA-3 units before USC forces were able to retake the prison complex and shut it down. The MERA unit on Geulid was held for questioning, but it activated its death acidifier before any useful information could be gleaned.

It is likely that Geulid was targeted due to its core made of gold, which is often used in the production of computer components.

Narohb-ϴ
This unassuming border planet was the base of operations for USC forces during the Narohb-Kew War.

Planetary Makeup
Narohb, like most gas giants, is primarily comprised of hydrogen and helium, with trace amounts of other elements. Its unusually dense makeup makes deep scanning difficult, and so deeper layers of the planet are still unknown. The research base "Red Market" floats in high atmospheric orbit around Narohb to investigate its makeup. No lifeforms are known to exist on Narohb aside from the crew of the "Red Market".

History
Prior to 5530/11, Narohb was considered atmologically unimportant, and so no extensive contact beyond mineral probes had been made with the planet. The Narohb-Kew War saw USC forces establish multiple "floating fortresses" in its upper atmosphere for weapons manufacturing and materiel caching. In the cursory atmologic examination made before the fortresses were constructed, trace elements of technetium were detected in the planet's atmosphere that were missed before. After the Narohb-Kew War ended, one of the decomissioned military bases was converted into a research vessel.

The presence of technetium in the atmosphere is unusual, as is the relative disinterest from the Merine Empire in acquiring it. Atmologists on the "Red Market" were assigned there partially to extract this element, and also partially to discover why no MERA probes were ever sent to Narohb.

Skela
Full Article: Skela

The ancient homeworld of the Merine Empire. Though destroyed by Merine harvesting activity, it remains occupied to this day. Many civilizations lived on Skela at one time, including the precursor race, but none have apparently survived into modernity.

Skela was once a flourishing planet with a diverse biosphere, rich mineral deposits, and prosperous cities. After the creation of the flawed AI core that drove the Merine automatons to instrumental convergence, it was slowly destroyed over many years as M-Units continued to self-replicate using all of its natural resources.

Yuni'Agren
This planet, located in the Nym constellation, was the site of the first alien contact with the Merine Empire.

Planetary Makeup
Yuni'Agren contains no biosphere, a very thin atmosphere, and spectroscopic analysis of its remains speculate that its core was cooling even before Merine harvesting activity began. The large, irregular hollow pockets underneath the crust of the planet suggest it was rich in a diverse spread of minerals. It orbits its sun at an average of 1.8 AU in an elliptical pattern that causes its temperature to plummet for two-thirds of its orbit, and reach well over 300°c for the other third.

Role in the Pradoran Conflict
Yuni'Agren was scouted by both Merine and Pradoran astrogeologists at roughly the same time. The Pradorans, being organic, had deployed unmanned drones to Yuni'Agren for analysis, but when they arrived, the planet was already in phase 2 of the Merine colonization process. The drones were destroyed by the newly deployed MANA-3 unit, which sparked a retaliatory attack that ultimately led to the Yuni Autowar. The Merine Empire would go on to defeat the assembled Pradoran machine divisions and claim Yuni'Agren.

Pragan Prime
Pragan Prime is the fifth planet in the Barral star system, located directly within its habitable zone. It was the hubworld for all of the disparate nations of the Pradoran Houses following the destruction of their homeworlds in the Fourth Era. After being conquered by the Merine Empire, it now houses one of the largest (although greatly diminished) populations of Pradoran citizens in known space.

Planetary Makeup
Most of the surface of Pragan Prime is covered in arid desert. Small oceans called the Blue Cycle cover its equator in a several hundred kilometer wide belt, supporting a sparse biosphere. Due to Merine mining activity, most of the sand in the deserts has been harvested, leaving very little arable soil anywhere except around the Blue Cycle. Most of the planet's lithosphere is made of various sandstones, which causes precarious sinkholes to form anywhere that the Merine have drilled. Its core remained intact during initial Merine occupation as it was composed of liquid stable protactinium, which has no use in manufacturing or electronics.

History
Main Article: Pradoran Houses

1522-a
Named during a routine exoplanet survey, 1522-a now holds the dubious honor of being the longest-running factory world known to exist.

Planetary Makeup
1522-a is comprised almost entirely of elementally pure iron, lead, and silver, with very little stone or soil. It is completely devoid of life, as there is only one small polar ice cap's worth of water and no arable land to speak of. In addition, the planet's core is completely cool, which means its atmosphere has been stripped away by solar winds. Approximately 32% of the world's mass has been converted into M-Units or related equipment and shipped offworld, reducing the planet from almost 21,000km to its current size.

History and Utilization
Observation indicates that 1522-a has never been inhabited by organic life. Between its lethally cold winters, lack of atmosphere, and total absence of biosphere, it is utterly hostile to any form of colonization by organic creatures.

USC astronomers first detected 1522-a in the year 1145/11. At the time, ERDA radiation was not included in the survey scan, and so Merine activity went undetected. Retroactive scans from more distant worlds (such as those in the Asrai constellation) have since confirmed that ERDA radiation was present in wave patterns emitted from 1522-a since at least 1099/11. Estimates based on planetary mass loss project that the world will continue to supply iron and lead to the Merine for at least another nine thousand years.

Kew
Kew is a blasted planet that was the primary battlefront for the Narohb-Kew War. Once an unimpressive urban residential world, it was transformed into an irradiated wasteland following extensive neutron and cobalt bombing by both the USC and Merine forces.

Planetary Makeup
Kew's surface is that of an average residential world, covered in 60% water and with modest deposits of sodium, aluminum, and nickel. It supported a fairly diverse biosphere, sufficient enough in quality to provide food and shelter for its twenty-one billion residents. The atmosphere is a mix of nitrogen and argon, providing breathable air for the majority of species within the USC. The current radiation levels in the atmosphere and hydrosphere are estimated to be equivalent to exposures above 45 sieverts, though the exact number is unknown due to no current radiation measurement equipment functioning near the planet's surface.

History
Prior to the Narohb-Kew War, Kew was the homeworld of the Yidnek people, one of the many subspecies of Yid. Though not a spacefaring race, the Yidnek fought to keep their independence from the USC for many centuries due to cultural and religious disputes between them and other Yid members of the USC. In 5120/11, a great plague ravaged the planet, killing almost 25% of its population. The Yidnek requested aid from the USC, and joined the Coalition in exchange. Between then and 6015/11, almost four hundred civil wars were fought between the Yidnek and other Yid civilizations within the USC over ideological disputes.

Role in the Narohb-Kew War
6076/11 saw the beginning of the Narohb-Kew war. Kew had seen peace for almost sixty years, and its population had begun to recover from the political turmoil of the past millenia. The first Merine invasion resulted in almost four million casualties alone. Kew's location in the Sevomyr Nebula and its reliance on self-governance meant that USC reinforcements were unable to assist Kew for two days after the initial invasion. Once they finally arrived, they repulsed the first wave of MANA-3 units over the course of a week. Subsequent battles on Kew went very poorly for the USC, and after two quadrums of constant open warfare, USC casualties were reaching the tens of millions while the Merine had only lost an estimated hundred thousand units. A full retreat order was issued, and military operations went into effect to evacuate the civilian population.

In 6077/11, the evacuation had finished with minimal further casualties, and USC upper governance agreed to use excessive force to destroy the Merine threat. Cobalt and neutron bombs were deployed over a number of MICA factories, which were answered by Merine nuclear strikes on remaining USC infrastructure. This continued for another three quadrums until the USC council voted to end the radioactive bombardment of Kew, deeming them "ineffective". Kew was briefly occupied by Merine forces in full between 6077/11 and 6079/11, during which they launched several more assaults on neighboring planets using Kew as a foothold. After two years of unsuccessful campaigns, Merine forces withdrew from Kew permanently, leaving behind many lethally irradiated factories full of defunct assembly equipment.