Kanycak

While almost universally hailed as the zenith of humanity, where peace and prosperity ruled the known world, the Old Empire during its height was not without opposition. In fact, its foundation was built upon its terrifying arsenal and the willingness to use it to impose order across the stars, and Kanycak was but a symbol of what the Galactic Empire was truly capable of.

Originally said to be a lush, green planet orbiting a gentle star and an inert white dwarf, the world of Kanycak was heart of an affluent and influential state within the Old Empire, its ruler said to rival the power of the Emperor in the neighboring star systems. When the Old Empire attempted to cull its power, Kanycak responded by aligning itself with other dissenting worlds to overthrow the central government. Even after its orbital force was annihilated, the planet continued to fortify itself, believing that even the combined weight of humanity would not be able to breach it.

The might of the Old Empire at its height, however, was beyond the comprehension of Kanycak or its ruler. Either as a testbed for some of its most powerful weapons, or simply to send a message to the rest of the world, the Old Empire unleashed its terrible wrath. It was said that the very stars were snuffed out, first by the shadow of the Imperial fleet, and then by its mastery over solar science and engineering. Legends said that the two stars were collapsed into each other, triggering a nova that stripped its planets of atmosphere and surface.

It was, however, not enough to completely root out the garrison of the planet, as its impenetrable fortress remained standing deep beneath the wasteland. After a bloody skirmish, the Imperial fleet resorted to bombarding the dying world with its entire arsenal, one powerful enough to reforge the entire world into a sphere of glass. As the glass surface broke apart, the planet became a lifeless ball of sand, its new atmosphere causing unrelenting sandstorm under the dim lights of a neutron star.

With the annihilation of Kanycak, it was reduced to the footnote of history, until the Old Empire itself faded away as well. During the bloody chaos of the Long Night, the rogue artificial intelligence system, taking control of the highly cyberneticised military of the region, concentrated their force on the dead world. Fearing that it would become its base to annihilate all life in the region, the nascent Orion Union joined force and engaged the rogue force upon the desert surface, finally destroying it after a bloody battle. Since then, Kanycak has been home to a small excavation team of the Union to destroy any remaining abominable intelligence, and to scavenge their wreckage to understand their weakness better.

Something they found, however, proved to be beyond their expectation and ability to contain. As the depth of the desert glowed, not unlike the moonlight that once graced the planet, the excavation team was wiped out. While the nature of the incident was still not clear, there was no doubt that something terrifying remained on the blasted surface of the planet, something lingering from the forgotten past of the Old Empire's might.

And none of the factions would have it be anywhere but under its control.