Centrum

Centrum from Orbit.

**Centrum** is the only naturally-habitable planet orbiting the blue star Centrum Solaris in the Centrum System. It is the birth place of Humanity in the Tantalus Cluster and the capital world of the Centrum Assembly.

## Characteristics

### Geography

Centrum has an orbital period around its star Centrum Solaris of 735 days and 23 hours. Timekeeping on Centrum is defined by the passage from the warm summer months to the cooler winter months, with each season of 367 days, 23 hours, and 30 minutes being split into two large divisions, the Equinox and the Solstice.

An ocean-bound planet, four-fifths of Centrum's surface is covered with salt water. Its remaining landmass takes the form of scattered islands and narrow archipelagos, such as the Tripathia Archipelago.

### Settlements

Over the centuries, Centrum's islands have become heavily-urbanised, and its cities have merged into massive metropolises. However, the planet still manages large areas of water and greenery. In its prime, Centrum's cities were filled with beautiful architecture, powered by fusion, wind, and solar power plants. Given the ongoing Great Famine in the Tantalus Cluster, these cities currently lie in disrepair, with non-essential structures being reduced to partial states of deconstruction as they are salvaged for desperately-needed materials. Even the towering arcologies of the Centrum Parliament district have lost much of their past splendour.

### Flora and fauna

Aberfane oak and Brasspine are woods native to Centrum. The tea crop also originated on Centrum.

### Satellites

Centrum is orbited by two small rocky moons, Lysane and Lysara, both of which have been colonised, as well as the spaceport Valentina's Reach.

## History

### Pre-unification

Humanity on Centrum was originally divided into numerous nation-states. The planet developed a strong nautical tradition, including the practice of privateering.

In the centuries that preceded unification, much of Centrum was unified through commerce and diplomacy under the monarchs of the Aberfane Kingdoms, however its final years were marked by the threat of dissolution caused by familial infighting. In 0186 BCU, Queen Faridah Amindura declared her intention to be the last monarch of Centrum and ordered her government and subjects to make preparations for a transition to a republic following her death. Her three sons formed the Tripathia Pact in opposition to their mother's plans, sparking a civil war in the Aberfane Kingdoms that lasted for some years. Queen Faridah's faction was ultimately victorious, and following her death, the Aberfane Kingdoms transitioned to a parliamentary democratic republic known as the Aberfane Assembly.

In the year 0005 BCU, the 6th Lysara Southern Survey Expedition discovered Riberite crystals in the southern hemisphere of Centrum's moon Lysara. These crystals were found to contain the material Drift, which in 0003 BCU was discovered to be able to generate directional gravitomagnetic fields when exposed to electrical charges.

### The Centrum Assembly

The discovery of Drift opened an entirely new area of scientific and technological research, permitting the development of the Drift Drive and enabling the rapid exploration of the Centrum System. Within three years, the nation-states of Centrum were unified under the banner of the Centrum Assembly, and the year of Centrum unification is the epoch of the Tantalus Cluster calendar.

Within two years of unification, the first Drift-powered spacecraft began to chart and settle the worlds of the Centrum System, permitting the colonisation of Centrum's moons, the nearby planet of Destrum, and the gas giant Arasin Maxima.

In 0010 PCU, the first Drift Gate, designed to enable travel to another star system, began construction at the Hadimus Gateforge, and in 0017 PCU, the Centrum-Pioneer Drift Gate allowed for the establishment of the first human settlement outside the Centrum System on the planet of Storm in the Pioneer System. Humanity would expand across the rest of the Tantalus Cluster from Centrum over the next three hundred years.

### The Great Famine and Frontier War

Following the colonization of the Rialtis and Axius Systems in the early decades of the Assembly, Centrum experienced a population boom that drove emigration to the new colony worlds, and in turn drove further colonization. Following the settlement of the Southeastern Frontier of Tantalus in the 0210s PCU, these newly-settled frontier worlds began to complain of resource shortages. Though their concerns were raised in parliament, these were frequently passed over in favor of Centran domestic issues.

The onset of the Great Famine in 0270 PCU, a Cluster-wide resource shortage, prompted the slow decay of Centrum's cities. In 0290 PCU, the ignored worlds of the frontier declared independence, forming the Frontier Union and provoking the decade-long Frontier War. Centrum itself was threatened when the Union attempted to seize the Valeria Sibus System as a staging ground to attack the planet. This developed into the Southwestern Front of the war as the Union and Centrum Defence Force fought near-constantly over the system.

In 0300 PCU, Centrum was targeted for destruction during the final battle of the Frontier War, the Battle of the Atamara Crossroads. Irreconcilable elements of the Frontier Union attempted to seize a Drift Gate in the Atamara Crossroads System, which they planned to re-orient and use to accelerate a captured asteroid into Centrum to cause an extinction-level event. This was thwarted by the Assembly's First and Second Fleets and the Frontier War ended shortly afterwards. This battle became remembered as the blackest day in Centran history.

## Society

Centrum's geography means that the planet's culture is inherently nautical, and the trappings of oceangoing life (such as the good-luck expression "Fair Winds") have found their way into every aspect of society, from education to literature, song, and music. For centuries these values have led Centran society to emphasise discipline and tradition, though this has changed in the generations following humanity's expansion into space, which has created a trend towards innovation and individualism among the younger generations. This has been met with some distaste by many older and more traditionalist Centran families.

Given the ongoing state of famine in the Tantalus Cluster, Centrum frequently experiences civil unrest. Food riots are a common occurrence throughout the planet's cities. Destitution is widespread in most residential areas, as well as on the planet's moons.

## Gallery

A Globe of the planet Centrum, in Captain Cassandra Farren's quarters aboard the *Guinevere.*
## Reference

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgWJLvZT8Gs
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The Sojourn: Worlds of Tantalus: The Centrum Assembly
3. ↑ Gabriel Fonseca, "The Centran Calendar System"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 *The Sojourn Visual Dictionary - Edition One*
5. ↑ The Sojourn: Tripathia Class Ship of the Line | Ship Breakdown
6. ↑ Ship Masts | Official Lore Short
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 The Sojourn: Drift and Drift Gates - Avalon Archives
8. ↑ The Last Queen of Centrum | Official Lore Short
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Gabriel Fonseca, *The Science of Drift*
10. ↑ 'Cassandra Farren's Quarters' by ZandoArts