Galactic Map
The galaxy we live in is a spiral formation, divided by AMS standard into 6 key sectors. In addition to the innermost Core and the surrounding Abyss, there are four distinct arms: the Spur, the Vista, the Forest and the Horizon.
Planets under the control of the Alliance are spread across the galaxy, with only the Core and the Abyss being completely outside of their jurisdiction.
Core
The heart of the galaxy is a star-dense region under the control of THRONE, who guard against attempts to map or explore their domain.
Core Proxima
At the dead center of the galaxy is a supermassive black hole. The area immediately surrounding it is a blasted sea of fragments, scoured clean even of Throne’s influence by such inhospitable conditions.
Celestial Spheres
(hypothetical THRONE superstructures)
Anomalous energy signatures within the Core region suggest that THRONE possess Dyson spheres, or equivalently vast constructions, for solar energy capture. Their capabilities and their intentions remain unclear.
Spur
The Spur arm is named for the notable cleft in its formation, creating a bridge of stars into the Horizon region. It is rich in raw materials, making it the target of industry and piracy alike. The systems closer to the Core are haunted by SHADOW raiders, who flourish in the absence of Alliance or THRONE authority.
Earth, human homeworld
A fragile world, marked by successive ecological collapse and a legacy of desperate conflict. Before they joined the Alliance, the people of Earth pulled back from the brink of destruction; they strive to honour the memory of all that has been lost, as they strike out across the stars.
More information on Earth can be found by clicking here.
Marzion IX
A gas giant replete with valuable vaporous resources, claimed for mining by the Marz Union – a pan-galactic industrial co-operative. As the name suggests, it is the ninth planet under their purview. Marzionites live and work on orbital mining platforms, or “gas rigs”, and take great pride in living and working well.
More information on Marzion IX can be found by clicking here.
Ok Yator, Skala homeworld
A cold yet arid planet, honeycombed by deep valleys and towering rock formations. The thick hides and communal cultures of the skala evolved from their need to huddle together against the long winters of their home.
More information on the skala can be found by clicking here.
Successor’s Estate
(contested SHADOW stronghold)
An immense space-borne fortress, or palace, constructed from the hollowing of a moon by SHADOW’s predecessors. It was the palatial seat of their monarchs prior to their deposing, and the MOTHER empire’s collapse, and many parts of the station have been left to ruin – but such structures are too massive to be destroyed by mere time, and too valuable to be entirely abandoned.
Vista
The Vista arm of the galaxy is thin but vast; its farthest reaches encircle the rest of the galaxy, while the closer regions wind tightly around the core. Many settled planets within the vista arm are tourist destinations, as the region’s position affords it legendarily beautiful views of the “Spectral Sea” – the band of light formed by the overlapping of millions of stars at once.
Geel, Omdua homeworld
A world of crystalline landmasses and vapour seas. Many life forms that evolved on Geel are capable of flight, thanks to a dense atmosphere rich in buoyant gasses; while such species are landlocked on planets of “thinner air”, an instinct for inertia gives them an easier time adjusting to vacuum.
More information on the omdua can be found by clicking here.
Viront Z85
An “eyeball planet”, tidally locked and therefore split down the middle between sun-scorched and glacial halves. Viront Z85 is a frontrunner technology hub and tourist destination within the Alliance, with its polar energy complexes and supercomputer arrays automating the tending of every visitor’s every need.
More information on Viront Z85 can be found by clicking here.
Crest of the Spectral Sea
The systems within this region overlook the center of the galaxy. It is said that night never falls on any planet located here, for the light of thousands of close-set stars fills the horizon even when the local sun cannot be seen. The truth is considerably more nuanced, but the area is still considered one of the most beautiful within the Vista arm.
Nomad’s Wake
A series of planets in freefall, chasing each other through the void. Nomad’s Wake consists of escapees from an ancient supernova, with each planet moving too quickly to have been recaptured by the systems they graze on their journey. Each is a bleak and barren rock, difficult to reach and harder still to leave – but, if the rumours of old smugglers are to be believed, there are survivalist clans still eking out an existence on the trail.
Forest
The Forest arm is named for its most notable feature: a labyrinth of satellites and systems tangled together by strands of MOSAIC-type biomass. While the region is dangerous, it is also fertile: cleft strains of the surrounding tissue that have fallen planetside have fed the evolution of life in strange and fascinating forms.
Arliris, Tever homeworld
A humid planet carpeted in immense botanical forms. Here, the pre-contact Tever evolved as arboreal hunters: the presence of trees as tall and as sturdy as modern skyscrapers allowed for an extremely vertical society, which associated the canopy with attainment and the forest floor with danger and precarity.
More information on the Tever can be found by clicking here.
Enigma Zone
(mapped MOSAIC kenostrata)
The “forest” for which the region is named: a dense web of assimilated and reconfigured biomass, recognisably derived from MOSAIC forms. While the Alliance has long been aware of the Enigma Zone’s presence and dangers, it could only identify the tissue binding the region together after studying MOSAIC manifestations outside of the Zone – and the relationship between the two is highly classified.
Gulf of Crux
The eye of the Enigma Zone’s storm: which is to say, two intersecting passages of clear space amidst the thicket of MOSAIC. Alliance investigations are ongoing, but it has been theorised based on trace energy signatures that the Gulf is the result of an attempt to “burn” the forest using technology – weapons – unknown to any living species.
Carrion Shroud
Orbiting the Enigma Zone is a cloud of heavy elements, debris and cosmic ejecta, adding to the inclement dangers of the Forest. This shroud’s constituents vary wildly in size, with a few habitable moons and stable planets among their number. The origin of the formation is unclear, but the name “Carrion Shroud” is based on the theory that the objects within it were rejected – and ejected – by the MOSAIC, for reasons currently unknown.
Horizon
The Horizon arm is dense in systems and worlds – “land”, in other words – but generally poor in resources. A strong Alliance presence in the sector is tempered by a lack of development, though this is slowly changing through investments like the Sultonia terraforming project.
Chetom, Vari homeworld
A swampy domain infested by insectoids, which range in size from washing machine to small spacecraft. The vari are the only intelligent life forms to arise on Chetom, and they are among the smallest. As it is the birthplace of the vari, it is also the birthplace of “redundantism” – a philosophy that prioritises any member of the community being able to take over the duties of any other member, if needed.
More information on the vari can be found by clicking here.
Sultonia
A planet on the frontier of Alliance space, in the process of being terraformed. Sultonia is habitable, though conditions are still “uncomfortable” at best for many species – those who have settled here are drawn, in spite of the struggle involved, by the chance to stand on their own two feet and to make something new.
In recognition of this pioneer spirit, and due to the planet’s advantageous location, it was chosen as the launch site for the AES-Ardent and the Ardent Initiative as a whole.
More information on Sultonia can be found by clicking here.
Helium Lanes
A series of star systems close to the galactic core, which are rich in helium and other valuable elements. The region is a hotspot for skirmishes between Alliance traders, THRONE scouts and SHADOW raiders over mining claims and mineral rights, and non-profit scientific research in the region has been stymied by the hum of battle.
Nova, Anthroid homeworld
An artificial planet, under construction in the heartland of Alliance space. The anthroids have the distinction of being the only species within the alliance to have been created by another. The creation of Nova was proposed, and authorised, to give anthroids and other synthetic species a home that was not contingent on their creators.
More information on anthroids can be found by clicking here.
Abyss
The outermost parts of the galaxy, bleak and urgent. Only outcasts and stray micro-organisms survive here, and only the desperate and the foolhardy dare to slingshot through its extremities on their way to brighter shores.
Belt of Tiamat
(suspected CIRCUS territory)
The narrow band of matter cast off from the galaxy’s arms, yet still caught in its gravitational pull: a dark halo at the very edge of the light. Alliance intelligence suggests that cells of the galactic criminal art movement called CIRCUS are harboured here, where they can perform experiments and prepare their attacks in secret.
Void Major
Greater space; anything outside of the galaxy proper. “Void minor” consists of any dark pocket between star systems, the long stretches of space in which kenophenomena can occur – but these are slim shadows of the great void in which our galaxy spins.