Planet Harris

DIAMETER: 23,118 km.

MASS: 8.76 x 10e24 kg.

TERRAIN: Transitional (Desert)

TEMPERATURE: -35°C to 48°C

ESCAPE VELOCITY: 16.78 km/sec

Previously a barren world, Harris was the object of one of the first large-scale terraforming efforts by Planetform, Incorporated. Initiated in 450 AS, the project was made easier by the abundance of pure Water and Oxygen ice in the system, while Terraforming Gases were easily transported by Bowex from the Stokes Mining Station in nearby Leeds. While the Harris Terraforming project is almost complete, and the planet is able to support human life (albeit not comfortably), the Kusari and Gallic invasions into Tau-31 made any kind of colonisation impossible until late 826.

During their early push into Bretonia, Gallic forces appeared to have opted to bypass the planet in order to concentrate the bulk of their strength on the core worlds of Bretonia. This had left the Planetform engineers and Bretonian defenders on the planet cut off, but relatively safe. That state of affairs did not last long, however. Once the frontlines in Bretonia stabilised, the Royal Navy dispatched the Dax battlegroup to breach Harris' defences and secure its orbit. The battlegroup then proceeded to mercilessly crush what little resistance was left on the surface and the planet fell into Gallia's hands in mid 823 AS.

The Gallic Crown soon transfered Harris facilities to EFL, ordering the company to attempt to restart the terraforming process under plans drawn up by the Office Royal des Eaux et Forets. Although unsuccesful at first, mostly due to differences in Sirian and Gallic terraforming methods, join OREF and EFL research teams managed to employ Planetform's equipment to the benefit of the Crown and terraforming resumed. This, in turn, caused a sudden but not unexpected outburst of hostilities from the Gaians, effectively putting an end to the informal neutrality between the Crown and the movement.

In 826 AS a strike, known as Operation Ice Lance, was launched by the Crayter Republic . The operation decisively crippled the Gallic presence in Tau-31, rendering the planet defenseless against the Crayterian forces. After the war's conclusion, Crayter returned the planet to Bretonian governance to avoid spreading their forces too thin. Due to Bretonia's refugee crisis after the fall of Leeds, Planetform has been urged to complete the terraformation project as soon as possible.

In an effort to ease Bretonian war debts and finance reconstruction, the Bretonian Office for Trade and Industry has opened up the enormous virgin resource of Harris land rights. Revenue raised from the partitioning and sale of vast tracts of land on the planet will swell Bretonia's coffers for decades to come. Currently Samura Industries and Synth Foods have shown interest in large scale purchase of Harris landscape.

## News

Ageira disputed this finding in their own press release, calling EFL 'fantasists' and countering that their own scientists had narrowed the cause to a rare 'hypernova' stellar event that originated outside the Sirius sector. Both corporations claim that network-wide hardware safeguards have been implemented that would prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Independent researchers have sharply criticized the corporate announcements, accusing both of self-interested misdirection.
Professor Sophia Nagel from Heisenberg Research Station called EFL's accusation 'incoherent' and the hypernova explanation 'nonsense' that did not explain the characteristics of the 'Blackout Pulse'. Despite multiple different Pulse recordings being widely disseminated across the neural net, public efforts have so far failed to triangulate its source.

## Rumors

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:45 UTC*