Maru

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Maru is an inhabited human colony in the Perseus Sector of the Perseus Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy.  It occupied the third orbital period of the system 81 811 Perseus, which it shares with the planet Kyodaina. 
Maru presents as a jade-green world. Kyodaina, despite being more than a third larger than Maru is considered by Maru's inhabitants to be its moon. The size of the world exerts enormous tidal stresses on Maru, which is prone to both geoquakes and enormous tides in coastal areas. It is uninhabited but since reconnection to the other human colonies, some industrial complexes have been built on its surface. Kyodaina's heavy gravity permits the synthesis of unqiue high-strength alloys in quantities not possible elsewhere.  
== Geography ==
Most of the planet is oceanic, with only about a fifth of the surface area as dry land. The planet's only small continent retains its colonial designation Alpha Maru. Much of the continental landscape is mountainous and volcanic.  There are also a number of large islands, primarily clustered in two major archipegalos: Kitajima in the northern hemisphere and Fōkurando in the southern hemisphere. 
=== Fauna ===
There are no native land mammals or bird species on Maru, but some livestock, domesticated pet animals, and birds were brought by early colonists and were able to thrive in the planet's environment. Most of the planet's food protein comes from fish, quasi-fish, and other marine animals. It is one of only a few planets where speech-capable cats are common among the population.
==Society and Culture==
The planet Maru had a population of more than 800 Million (but less the than Million) as of the 74th Solar Century. Most of the population lives in a chain of cities stretching along the eastern shore of Alpha Maru. The largest Metroplex, Mega City, is the seat of the planet's council and legislature and home to over 24,000,000 inhabitants.While most of Maru's population lives in large, densely concentrated urban centers, the planet also contains a number of pleasant, pastoral regions where a more traditional culture is maintained. 
Maru has the largest population of any of the Minor Worlds in the New Galactic Commonwealth. Under the Commonwealth Articles, a world must have one billion inhabitants to be considered a major world. Maru has lobbied to lower the threshhold to a 600 million inhabitants, which would reclassify Maru and eight other Commonwealth planets as Major Worlds. This move has been vigorously resisted by most of the present major worlds, particularly Bountiful and Republic.  
While a member of the New Commonwealth, Maru maintains diplomatic and trade relationships with most of the planets in the Free Worlds Affiliation, and has a large trade and diplomatic mission to the planet Loki.  
Maru Starport is a large spaceport at the barycenter between the orbits of Mary and Kyodaina. The sprawling base provides shipping and transport links to the rest of the galaxy. It is the largest starport in the Perseus Quadrant that isn't a starlock. Maru is the home base for the quadrants largest interstellar shipping companies and several interstellar starliner companies.  
==== Maru Star Navy ====
==== To protect its trading interests and facilitate cooperation with other words, the Government of Maru commissioned a fleet of home-built Fast Attack Corvettes that comprise the Maru Star Navy. There are ten ships in this fleet: ====
* Katanagatari (KGT-01)
* Yūgasa (YGS-02)
* Izumi (IZU-03)
* Arare (ARA-04)
* Yoake (YKE-05)
* Natsuzuki (NZK-06)
* Oboro (OBR-07)
* Hakaze (HKZ-08)
* Kagayaki (KGY-09)
* Jūryoku (JYO-10)
All ships are crewed exclusively by Maru personnel. The Katanagatari is aligned to the FWA's StarForce military arm. The Yugasa is aligned to the New Commonwealth Galactic Fleet. The other ships are assigned as needed to protect Maru's commercial and political interests.  
 
Category:Worlds