Elysian Star Cluster

The final resting place of the heroic and the virtuous, huh? I guess the Founders weren't very humble back in the day, were they?
— Anonymous, 173

The Elysian Star Cluster, simply referred to as Elysium, is an open star cluster located in the Milky Way's Perseus Arm and primarily made of middle-aged G-type and K-type stars. It consists of a roughly spherical region, 97 lightyears in diameter, and contains 1 471 stars. Most of these stars are between 3.5 and 7 billion years old, indicating that Elysium is most likely the inner core of a much older cluster, which has since then expanded to a scale that remains unknown so far.

Astronomers believe that Elysium has been entirely discovered, and previous expeditions have explored the vast majority of Elysium's planetary systems. Of all the discovered and explored systems, however, only eight have been found hosting a planet capable of permanently sustaining human life. While official expeditions are no longer underway, numerous private explorers have set out to discover and explore new systems of interest beyond Elysium, so far with little success.

History

It is estimated that humans arrived in Elysium roughly 37 000 years after leaving Earth, when the UNS Ulysses reached Auriga. With no other choice but to resettle, Auriga became the new home of humanity, and studies of the nearby stars begun once the first cities were established. Proper exploration of Elysium only began in the early 130s, however, eventually leading to the discovery of the Ceryx system. Since then, astronomers and scientists have attempted to pin-point the location of the Solar System, and it is now widely believed to be approximately 7 418.6 lightyears away, far beyond the range of modern interstellar travel.

Most stars in Elysium have been found to be of no interest, either having no planets or very few of them, and most of those being entirely unsuited for human life. As a result, the vast majority of Elysium is unclaimed and devoid of life, waiting for the day humanity will find a use for it. Still, beyond the Aurigan system, two other planetary systems have been settled by major nations: Ceryx, in 169, and Medea in 215. Together, these three systems are home to more than 90% of all mankind, with most of their population concentrated on their class V planets. So far, no other class V planet has been found, making them among the most important locations in Elysium.

Milky Way by ESO

Radius
97 lightyears
Estimated age
7.3 billion years
Number of stars
1 471
Total population
2 895 513 427 (382 est.)
Factions
Vestan Federation
Enodian Ascendancy
Elysian Security Organization
Unity Concord
Non-Aligned Nomad Fleets
Criminal Underworld

In the aftermath of the Interstellar War, many communities sought to distantiate or even secede from the severely weakened MINERVA. This movement led to the birth of a multitude of nomad fleets, who roam freely throughout Elysium to this day. A few of these fleets eventually settled down on some class IV planets, forming independent "rogue" colonies. Naturally, these independent colonies and fleets also gained the interest of criminals and fanatics alike, making skirmishes frequent in these areas. In order to defend themselves against these threats, and to guarantee their independence from both the Federation and the Enodian Ascendancy, most of these independent nomad fleets and colonies have formed the Elysian Security Organization.

Cartography

Elysium is a spherical region of space arbitrarily divided into cube-shaped sectors, each of them being one light-year wide. These sectors are only used as references for navigation and cartography, and do not represent any physical or political border whatsoever. Elysium consists of nearly half a million of such sectors, with the vast majority of these being completely devoid of any astronomical objects. The rest of these sectors contain stars and, for some of them, planets that are divided into five categories:

Class I planets

While not particularly abundant, gas giants and ice giants are frequently found in Elysium. These class I worlds often form local satellite systems that can potentially become self-sufficient and provide a near limit-less source of fuel. So far, however, only the Cardean and Nyx systems have reached such a state. While it is believed that the Aegisthian system could follow suit, its occupation by various criminal gangs and outlaws prevent it from becoming anything else than a pirate haven.

Class II planets

The most abundant type of planet are terrestrial planets. Most of these, however, are unexploitable due to their close orbit to their sun or their insidious environment, such as acid rain and extreme atmospheric pressure. These class II planets thus remain untouched by human civilization, though some expeditions have made attempts to setup automated and remotely-operated outposts for scientific or industrial purposes. So far, none of these endeavors have made any significant progress, and most have been long abandoned.

Class III planets

Not all terrestrial planets are hostile to human life. Some are capable of hosting a semi-permanent human presence, either due to inadequate gravity or inadequate environments, and thus can be exploited. These class III planets are somewhat uncommon, and the efforts required to settle them make them a poor choice for anyone involved, but they are among the easiest to industrialize, both physically and legally. Most dwarf planets fall into this category, though some terrestrial planets such as Atalanta or Pyrrhus also exist.

Class IV planets

The rare and harsh class IV worlds are planets capable of hosting a permanent human presence, at a price. The main deciding factor is the presence of exploitable water, either in liquid or solid state, that allows for human settlements to become self-sufficient. Naturally, this indirectly results in other criteria such as livable atmospheric pressure and surface temperatures, as well as acceptable surface radiation levels. So far, only five star systems host such planets, who are, as of 276, under the jurisdiction of a multitude of minor independent nations.

Class V planets

By far the rarest and most coveted of all, class V planets are very similar to Old Earth and are characterized as naturally capable of supporting permanent human presence. This implies, among other things, a breathable atmosphere (both in composition and pressure), liquid surface water, livable surface temperature and an active biosphere. So far, out of the 1 471 stars of Elysium, only three host such planets: Auriga, Ceryx and Medea. As of 215, all three of these are under the jurisdiction of the Federation or the Ascendancy, the dominant superpowers of Elysium.

While current DSM technology enables any ship to travel from one side of Elysium to the other in less than a year, interstellar travel is still a long and arduous task. As a result, trade routes have been established between the eight inhabited systems, forming an interconnected network of communication hubs and supply stations. This makes it possible to exchange information throughout the cluster in a relatively short amount of time, although goods still take weeks or even months to reach their destinations.

Major systems

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Elysian Star Cluster

History

Cartography

Major systems

Aurigan System

Ceryx System

Medean System

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