Terra

**Terra** is a planet in VAST. It is the Terran homeworld and is under the protection of the Peacekeep.

## Description

Terra is approximately the same size as Earth before it was destroyed. It has a similar atmospheric composition and ratio of land to water (71% water), however it is not divided into many different continent as Earth was. Instead, the majority of Terra consists of a singular landmass running in a diagonal direction across the equator, running from north-east to south west. In addition, there is a singular island continent the size of Australia off the coast of the primary continent, known as Avalon. Terra also has two moons orbiting it - Leto and Asteria.

### The Promised Land

The major continent on Terra is formally known as The Promised Land, however very few people refer to it as such. It's climate is similar to that of Earth, and consists of well-formed terrains suitable for habitation by humans.

The continent is separated into two political areas: the north-east section under the control of the Sojourners/Terran Republic, and the south-west section under the auspices of the Returners/Terran Coalition.

### Avalon

When the planet of Terra was first shaped by the Pac-Ha, the by-product of the terraforming process created the island continent of Avalon. It is a hodgepodge of terrains and climate. The terrain, flora and fauna are very discordant and disjointed.

### Leto

The first moon of Terra, Leto is an ice moon with only a couple of science stations scattered around it. It was the furthest battlefield of the Sojourner-Returner War, and bears the scars to prove it. It has a secret Rampel facility beneath a large ice field.

### Asteria

Asteria, the second moon orbiting Terra, is populated with small cities and colonies. The moon has several radar "dead zones".

## History

In 2025, Earth was destroyed by the Slate. When this happened, the Pac-Ha arrived at Earth and were able to rescue 3 billion of the 8.3 billion humans from the planet before its destruction. Those people that were saved were relocated to a planet similar in size and atmospheric composition to Earth. This planet became known as Terra, and its inhabitants became known as Terrans.

### Pre-War Terra

Over the next 25 years, the Pac-Ha established a planetary infrastructure including building cities, communications grids, and other systems required for Terran survival. Following this period of world building, the planet was handed over to the control of the Terrans.

Terrans were encouraged by the Pac-Ha to create some kind of unified government on the planet, but as was the nature of their human forebears, they were unable to accept this ideology. As they were uninterested in forcing Terrans into accepting their advice, the Pac-Ha did not intervene and allowed the planet to evolve in its own way. Over time, Terra split into two main factions: the Sojourners and the Returners.

#### *Sojourners*

The Sojourners occupied the north-east section of the main continent on Terra. These were people who were exactly as their name suggested - they were interested in going out into the wider galaxy, embrace new technologies and ideologies, and find adventures among the stars. They were the futurists of Terra, and as such grew to have a homogeneous system.

Under the leadership of Trevor Rampel, the Sojourners developed a unified government. Up until then, Sojourners were separated into territories under local governance. Through his charisma and political persuasion, Trevor created the government and by nature of his involvement automatically became the autocratic head of state for the entire Sojourner population, later to be titled as Prince Sojourner. As this worked out so well for him, and because he did not leave an heir, this position became a family position within society. His mantle first passed to his sister's son Joseph Rampel, then on to Joseph's son Matthias.

#### *Returners*

In the south-west of the main continent arose a faction of countries that referred to themselves as Returners. The Returner ideology was to remain as human as possible, holding on to our old culture and ways of life, knowing where they came from so they could understand where they were headed.

When the Pac-Ha ships took people from Earth, each flotilla took a group of people from where they were geographically on the planet's surface. When they were first deposited on Terra, they were done so in this geographical groups. The Returners ended up being a number of smaller nations, all of which were trying to hold on to their own cultural concept. This included their old ways of doing things, building cities, maintaining governance, etc. As a result, the Returners ended up as a much more chaotic government system.

There were six major nations within the Returner territory:

* The Bharata
* The First Peoples
* The Union
* El Futuro Unido (The United Future)
* The Nation of One Voice
* The Tovar-Shiraka

Each of these nations had their own governments, trade regulations, etc. Bordering all six of these nations was the capital city of Cacophony. It was here that councillors from those nations met to discuss wider matters involving the Returner nations. It was also the central location of the New Earth Trade Exchange (NETE), the major trade regulator, which has branches throughout Returner territory.

### Sojourner-Returner War

During the reign of Matthias Rampel, a peace conference was held between the Sojourners and Returners in an effort to open up talks between the two factions to find some kind of common ground. Unfortunately, that idea did not fight a hold on either side, and Matthias was particularly incensed with how he was treated during the conference.

Upon returning to Journeyman's Rest, Matthias Rampel launched a missile strike upon many targets within Returner territory. These targets were all military in nature, and as such gave the Sojourners a great first strike advantage. This was the start of the Sojourner-Returner War.

As the missile strike by Matthias Rampel was ordered without first preparing his military, his forces were not ready to stage a full scale war. As such, the immediate response from Returner troops was highly effective in penetrating deep into Sojourner territory.

The war raged on for five years. During this time, over 17 million Terrans on either side were killed in the conflict. It was also an economic disaster for both sides, with no apparent end in sight as Matthias had no interest in ending the war until it was won.

Upset with the state of the war, Matthias Rampel was publicly challenged by his son, Thomas Rampel. Matthias subsequently outsmarted his son, brought him out to a public square for execution, and prepare to kill him. The execution was ultimately unsuccessful, thanks to the efforts of Thomas' sister, Charlotte Rampel.

Along with her own personal guard, Charlotte stormed the square, rescued her brother, and killed her father Matthias. Due to the injuries sustained during his attempted execution by chemical poisons, Thomas was hospitalised and unable to take up the mantle of Prince Sojourner. As a result, Charlotte took up the title in his stead.

#### *The Rampel Gambit*

Two weeks after murdering her own father, Charlotte took up with Gerard Shin, a Returner agent, and Kayla Torvis, a former member of Charlotte's Elite Guard and now a wandering ronin, and crossed the border into Returner territory. Once there, the three made their way to the Returner capital Cacophony where they met with the councillors from the six major Returner nations: Rama Shakti of The Bharata, James Akoni of The First Peoples, Lucille Bocquet of The Union, Maria Gutierrez of El Futuro Unido (The United Future), Ling Hua of The Nation of One Voice, and Abbas Karimi of The Tovar-Shiraka.

During this meeting, Charlotte spoke for fourteen hours in an effort to convince the councillors to end the war. Whenever one of the councillors tried to say no, Charlotte utilised her impressive political and social skills to shut them down. Whenever one of the councillors tried to leave, Gerard Shin reminded them that he has leverage over them through his business contacts. Kayla Torvis provided support by warding off any military incursions into the meeting. In the end, Charlotte was able to successfully convince the councillors, and the war was ended.