Cradle Worlds

The Cradle Worlds are a series of planets that mankind began settling during their Golden Age in the 2340's. Though originally revealed to humanity by the Shaltari, the alien race has shown precious little interest in the worlds since then (besides Aaru). In the 300 years since then, the Cradle Worlds were built up into the cornerstones of humanity's empire amongst the stars, each one providing important assets and resources.

These worlds, along with Earth, were targeted during the Scourge's invasion in the year 2507. While little is known about the defence of these worlds during that time, they were certainly less defended than Earth was, resulting in their capture. However, the Scourge's parasitic nature has meant that the Cradle Worlds have stayed more or less the same as they were while held by humans.

Currently, the Cradle Worlds are the primary theatres of the Reconquest. The United Colonies of Mankind have reclaimed three of them from the Scourge since the start of the war (Eden, Elysium, and Shangri-La) and maintain at least some presence on the other four; however, with the start of the Battle for Earth, the importance of the Cradle World campaigns have waned somewhat.

## Eden

The Eden system consists of three habitable worlds: Eden Prime, Eden II, and Eden IV. Little is known of the latter two thus far; however, the former was the most populous human planet save Earth itself prior to the Scourge invasion. Eden Prime is exceptionally Earth-like, with plentiful forests, vast oceans, and likely similar gravity and atmosphere to Earth itself. Where it distinguishes itself is its massive mantle scar known as Odin's Foundry, where the majority of its industrial centres are located.

The Eden system was chosen as the first theatre of the Reconquest by the UCM, with hostilities opening on June 6th, 2670. The system was declared conquered in 2672, after a year and a half of fighting. Though the Scourge still maintain pockets of resistance, the system's resources have begun to be exploited by the UCM. Additionally, the first UCM Legion raised from a Cradle World - the Eden 1st - has been formed from ex-Resistance members that fought on Eden Prime.

## Elysium

The Elysium system is generally devoid of inhabitable planets besides Elysium Prime, which was established as an agricultural world when first settled by humanity. As with Eden Prime, Elysium Prime appears to be generally Earth-like in nature, with plenty of fields ideal for producing grain and other sources of carbohydrates. A few small colonies dedicated to gemstone mining previously existed on minor planets in the Elysium system, though these were obliterated during the original Scourge invasion and have yet to be rebuilt by the UCM.

The Elysium system was the second theatre opened by the UCM during the Reconquest, with the invasion beginning on November 30th, 2670. The system was declared conquered by the UCM on January 20th, 2672, despite remaining pockets of Scourge and feral Resistance forces still present. The majority of UCM forces here have since been redeployed to other theatres, most notably Olympus; however, an above-average garrison remains to help combat the remaining threats, as well as to contend with potential Shaltari interference.

## Shangri-La

The Shangri-La system consists of a single Cradle World, from which the system takes its name, and its two moons of Helen and Persephone. Shangri-La itself is a stunningly beautiful planet, replete with breathtaking scenery, sumptuous plant life, and multitudes of mostly harmless fauna, making it the centre of the tourist trade prior to the Scourge invasion. Its surface is covered by vast, nearly-impassable jungles, which have had thousands of small island-like clearings carved into it for spaceports and cities. The Scourge clear-cut some of these jungles to allow for mining operations to proceed, scarring the planet's once-pristine surface in the process.

Shangri-La's lack of major cities and minimal orbital infrastructure made it an ideal third target for the United Colonies of Mankind during the Reconquest. Operations began on February 5th, 2671, though the difficult terrain of this Cradle World bogged down attempts to conquer it rapidly, despite a relatively light Scourge garrison. Matters were complicated further by the arrival of the Post-Human Republic, who landed their own ground forces on Shangri-La in service of an as-of-yet unknown objective. Following the PHR's withdrawal, the UCM has been able to declare the planet pacified - if not fully conquered - as of May 2672.

## Olympus

The Olympus system consists of the Cradle World Olympus Prime, in addition to minor unnamed worlds. Olympus Prime itself appears generally Earth-like, though it also possesses an extraordinarily tall mountain range in its northern hemisphere that appears to reach past the atmosphere.

Prior to the Scourge invasion, Olympus Prime was humanity's foremost factory planet, as its crust is exceptionally rich in ore, hydrocarbons, and precious minerals. This abundance of material wealth is a major reason for Olympus Prime's extensive orbital installations - the largest ever constructed by humanity, save for those over Earth itself. Most of these facilities were given over to starship construction, a role that the Scourge have maintained after their conquest of the system.

This defensive orbital grid, backed by a Scourge armada, made Olympus Prime a difficult target despite its appeal. The UCM force sent to invade the system on February 1st, 2671, was the largest ever assembled since D-Day on Eden Prime, but it still took eighteen days for Colonial forces to gain void superiority against the Scourge. The debris from this conflict, in addition to the need to capture or disable Olympus Prime's defence grid, has delayed the ground invasion for a year and a half now, and with the ongoing operations in the Solar System, it is unlikely that the UCM will make a hard push for Olympus Prime anytime soon.

## Aaru

The Aaru system consists solely of the planet Aaru and its star, making it unusual when compared with other Cradle Worlds. Though its surface is an barren, arid wasteland, Aaru is honeycombed by a planetwide network of caverns, some big enough to have their own climate and weather patterns.

Aaru was passed over by the UCM as a candidate for the Reconquest's early stages, as its uniquely subterranean biomes made invasion a daunting prospect. Resources were instead funneled into arming and mobilising the local Resistance forces, as the Scourge's ability to communicate is severely hampered underground. Currently, the system is under assault by the largest Shaltari warfleet ever witnessed by the UCM, who have wrested void superiority from the Scourge as of late 2672.

## Asgard

The Asgard system is composed of its primary world - Asgard Prime - and its two moons, Valhalla and Sessrumnir. Due to its vast metal seams and uniquely dense titanium and tungsten deposits, Asgard Prime was humanity's premier armour and tank manufacturer, exceeding even Olympus Prime in those industries. Its moons were given over to classified military research stations, though the nature of their work was lost to the UCM after the Scourge invasion.

Though categorised as a priority 2 objective for the Reconquest, Asgard has been all but lost to the UCM, as its Foldspace nodes have been deactivated. The single UCM reconnaissance patrol sent to Asgard was destroyed by PHR operatives, leaving only a single ship left to send word to the colonies; however, some of the UCM's ground forces survived the betrayal and are believed to be waging guerilla warfare on the surface in a bid to reactivate one of the nodes.

## Tlalocan

The Tlalocan system is unique in that it does not have a single Cradle World, but instead consists of a collection of four habitable moons orbiting a red gas giant. The combined material wealth and living space of these moons is roughly equivalent to a planet like Eden Prime, though what exact resources the moons provided humanity with are unknown.

The system was believed lost to humanity at the start of the Reconquest, as no functioning foldspace nodes were active there; however, the system was rediscovered by the UCM as a side effect of a covert operation to find the PHR homeworlds. The Republic has since wrested control of the Tlalocan Moons from their Scourge occupiers and begun to construct permanent facilities there. The UCM have begrudgingly withdrawn their claim of control over the system during talks with PHR ambassadors, leaving the system fully in post-human hands.

## Lyonesse

Lyonesse was settled alongside the rest of the Cradle Worlds during humanity's Space Age; however, the planet suffered a cataclysmic topological disaster in 2490, forcing a mass exodus of its entire population. As a result, the UCM ignored the planet during planning for the Reconquest. Its current state is completely unknown.