Kess-Gendar

This lore was submitted by Atermonera

Name	Kess
Type	Yellow Main Sequence
Spectral	G0V
Mass	0.972 M☉
Diameter	1.0386 D☉
Temperature	5,973 K
Luminosity	1.2321 L☉
Distance from Earth	19.42 ly

Eta Cassiopeia is a binary mid system composed of Kess, an main sequence star nearly the twin of Sol, and Gendar, a much smaller, dimmer companion. The presence of Nisp, a garden world, made Kess the target of some of humanity's early colonization efforts, and the amenability of Nisp's atmosphere has caused the system as a whole to have one of the highest core-system Skrellian populations. The system is divided between three distinct governments, which operate together in a loose confederation.

History

The presence of a number of planets orbiting Eta Cassiopeia A and B were discovered during the late-21st century, but it wasn't until the mid-22nd century that the atmospheres of Upesc and Nisp were observed. The system was properly surveyed in 2187 by independent explorers. The documentation of Nisp's biosphere in the following decades led to early outposts by a number of parties interested in studying and/or hunting the wildlife. By 2238 an official colony was registered with Solgov, with several more popping up in various regions. A number of businesses in the pharmaceutical research and gas mining industries had also set up shop in the area to harvest their respective products, many of which were later bought out by Zeng-Hu and Aether. The colonies expanded quite rapidly, given the appeal of a lush, tropical biosphere and year-round summer, although a number failed to account for the hostile wildlife, and most of those that couldn't muster a healthy militia, or contract one, were abandoned in due course. Thus, a number of military contractors also appeared on the planetary scene, where they had a wealth of particularly lethal subjects to test new weapons on.

At around 2290, the various civilian colonies recognized the gains to be had from more formally working together, and unified into the Nispan Planetary Council. While each individual colony was still largely self-governing, the Council had the power to raise permanent armies for the defense of settlements, and declare system-wide legislation. Early settlements very quickly established strict ecological and conservationist laws, and while they have restricted Nisp's industrial manufacturing capacity quite severely, ecological conservation is still very important to the people today. What the planetary governors failed to account for, however, was the growing extra-planetary economy that was also subjected to the Council's verdicts, per many of their foundational charters.

The Kessan Confederation came about following a brief internal conflict from 2309 to 2312 as orbital settlements, particularly in the Gendaran system, chafed against locally unpopular laws and regulations that were dangerous for an orbital colony trying to keep breathable air in, but entirely natural for a landbound colony trying to keep a world full of dangerous wildlife out. The capital, Elysium, was constructed at the system's barycenter: isolated from either system, but also perfectly in between them. The Kessan Republic was then founded as a form of checks and balances, and while minor rivalry does exist between the polities, all three cooperate intensely.

While the confederation was largely unaffected locally by the Human-Unathi War, troops were requisitioned by Solgov to retake captured planets. Returning soldiers were celebrated as heroes.

Given the atmosphere of Nisp, it was one of a handful of planetary colonies to receive significant numbers of Unathi immigrants. This caused it to also be among the more affected colonies by the Lizard Riots. However, the individual riots tended not to last very long, as each city is quick to quell internal conflict when there's a world of things that want to eat everyone involved, and has a well-respected standing army that's quite capable of breaking up mobs.

Politics and Demographics

The primary language throughout both systems was Sol Common, although as trade relations with the Skrell improved, there was a large growth of Tradeband speakers as a means to encourage business with Skrellian partners in the early 25th century, and it has eclipsed Sol Common as the primary language in most settlements on Nisp. This also delayed the uptake of Galactic Common within school curriculum, though the orbital polities became more mixed, with only some adopting Tradeband, some adopting Galactic Common, and others holding fast to Sol Common.

Because living on Nisp brings with it such substantially different challenges than living in orbital habitats, the Kessan Confederation is split between three major polities: the Gendaran Assembly, the Nisp Planetary Council, and the Kessan Republic.

In general, the Kessan Republic and Gendaran Assembly are more liberal, while the Nisp Planetary Council tends to be more conservative politically.

All three polities are individually represented in Solgov.

The populations of the orbital polities are reflective of most orbital demographics in human space. Nisp, meanwhile, features significantly more Skrell and Unathi, as the climate is particularly suited to their biologies. There is still a fair amount of suspicion and racism towards the Unathi following the Lizard Riots, but hate crimes have dropped significantly in the past decade following the Lizard Riots.

Inhabited Planets

Nisp
Safari Planet
Near-garden world
A tropical garden super-earth, Nisp features an impressive ring system extending from 2 planetary radii to around 4.5 planetary radii. With a planetary average temperature of around 31.5 C, photosynthetic organisms maintain photosynthesis year-round over much of the planet's surface. The surface pressure is 2.5 atmospheres, and due to concentrations of nitrous oxide, respirators are required for long-term exposure to the native environment, with temperature-control suits often used as well. Due to Rayleigh scattering, the sky looks a greenish-turquoise, as shorter wavelengths are scattered out by the thicker atmosphere.

Artificial Habitats

Elysium
Government Hub
Orbital Habitat
Situated at the barycenter of Gendar and Kess' binary orbits, Elysium is the hub of the Kessan Confederation, where representatives of the Nisp Planetary Council, Kessan Republic, and Gendar Assembly perform formal negotiations and pass system-wide legislation.