Esoqq

The most recent system to be explored and colonized, Esoqq is heavily hyped by Terran Systems. Their capital flagship TS Rostero arrived seven years ago in the Esoqq system to colonize Esoqq 1. Six months ago, Systems finally completed the Deneb-Esoqq Jump Point and shipments began back and forth to the system. In fact, the Esoqq system is so new, it is still in the mandatory one-year timeframe during which Systems establishes the safety of a new system before allowing commercial and personal travel to commence. No word has yet returned on the status of the terraforming of Esoqq 1 itself, though it is expected that will take many years still. This is not to say no news has emerged from the system.
Terran Systems is already touting Outpost 21, an orbital station positioned halfway between the Jump Point and Esoqq 1, as one of the most technologically advanced and beautiful stations humanity has yet constructed. Credit for its unique design is going to the capital ship’s Commander Shig Arai, who apparently spent most of his eight year journey designing it with a team of on-board architects and engineers.

People & Culture

A harsh and barren world, Esoqq 1 is currently home to nothing more than a remote outpost. The story is that the planet was found to be less hospitable than initially thought when it was scouted, so a large number of Systems’ resources instead went into Outpost 21, a space station orbiting the planet where 95% of the Esoqq System’s population lives. As for that population, those who have returned through the Jump Point for other duties have been ecstatic to the limits their NDAs will allow. This, combined with some phenomenal pictures and videos sweeping the monitors has many lining up to find a way to make Outpost 21 their next vacation. Still others insist it must be a fantasy, a result of perfectly-implemented marketing hype.
It remains to be seen if Esoqq 1 will eventually be another Cygni, or if it will become merely a gateway to further systems, like Centauri and so many others wound up. As of this writing, Terran Systems still has high hopes.

History

When Systems first explored out beyond Deneb, Esoqq seemed like a good choice. All their telemetry data indicated Esoqq to be ripe for colonization, and that terraforming would not take long. On arrival, seven years later, they instead found the atmosphere much harsher than anticipated, and some of the strange Agrali termites there as well. The prevailing theory was that they were on some space debris that had somehow landed them in a number of star systems simultaneously. A research base was built to contain the termites, and terraforming commenced at a plodding pace, while the systems’ explorers continued to enjoy the amenities of the super-modern Outpost 21.

Outpost 21

Due to the in-flight efficiency redesign initiated by Commander Arai mid-journey, the TS Rostero consumed only 24% of its resources to generate the Deneb-Esoqq Jump Point and the base and terraforming equipment on the surface of Esoqq itself. Arai decided to save the other 76% and build it into a hyper-sophisticated space station, positioning it halfway between the Jump Point and the planet so it could adequately monitor both.
All told, Outpost 21 has become by far, the most modern and powerful outpost in Systems’ entire fleet, much as the Rostero was before it, and it seems poised to become a hub for all future exploration in that sector.

Type

Planet