Proserpina

The planet Proserpina contains the main settlements in the Kapteyn system. Established a few years before the Sirius Conflict by the Daedalus 11 voyage, Kapteyn became the first dwarf star to be connected to the inhabited universe. The planet is tidally locked to its star so that half the planet is warm and always faces Kapteyn, and the other hald is cold and shrouded in perpetual night. The planet is named after the Greek goddess Proserpina whose life was split evenly between the warmth of the Earth in the spring and summer, and the cold of the underworld during the darker months.

History

Pre-Human Settlement

Hundreds of thousands of years before human settlement, Proserpina was settled by an alien race known as the Lemurians. They were exceptionally adept geneticists, relying on biotechnology and artificially synthesized organisms for every aspect of their lives. They expanded into Gaia and Proserpina from beyond the inhabited universe and are responsible for creating the ancestors of X-strain life on the two planets. The Lemurian wormhole system was always made in subterranean areas of planets, being a preferable cooler environment for the species and allowing access to geothermal power.

Human Settlement

Upon arrival, early settlers of Proserpina found its atmosphere to be even more temperate than expected, due to its strong eastern wind patterns and cloud cover cooling the planet. Settlements initially dotted the surface some distance away from the substellar point due to the ease of access to light from Proserpina's star, but later on settlements further under cloud cover were able to flourish thanks to the energy efficient solar farms located in high atmosphere. Although the settlement was able to produce resources and manufactured items for other planets, it has overall required subsidizing by the rest of the Sirius corridor while under ownership of the Eridani Trust. This would play heavily into a controversial decision by the Sirius Military Consulate during the Sirius Conflict.

Eridani Coverup

Upon discovery of extra terrestrial artifacts, the decision was made to keep very tight control of the wormhole.

Sirius Conflict

Main Article: Sirius Conflict.

Being among the poorer fringe worlds beyond Sirius, the visible inequalities on Proserpina made its population sympathetic to the complaints of the SMC. When locations on Gaia declared themselves autonomous, Proserpina leadership quickly declared for the planet for the SMC. During the first year of the conflict however, splinter groups from within the planet began to instigate braver and more audacious attacks. In order to secure supply lines between their major strongholds, SMC operatives undertook an operation to cripple Trust's defenses around the wormhole to Proserpina. The operation backfired, and in an unfortunate standoff, the wormhole was destroyed. It wouldn't be until after the end of the war 4 years later that Proserpina would be reintegrated. Critics debate whether or not this decision was instrumental to the SMCs war effort, but the refusal by SMC elite to allocate wartime resources to the reintegration of a dependent planet supportive of their cause would be despicable in the public eye for years to come. By the time Daedalus 13 was launched there was a very real fear that Proserpina would be held by forces sympathetic to the Trust.

During its 9 years alone in space, citizens of the Kapteyn system succumbed to famine and infighting. Fearing unfriendly intervention, planetary defenses were established including a small gravmine network. Eventually a series of uneasy truces necessary for survival was established. After 5 years of waiting however, Proserpina realized that help may not be coming soon, and the Free Proserpina Union was formed as an alternative governing body. Fueled by discontent, it grew to be the largest faction in the system.

As part of a campaign to unite the rest of the system under its rule, the FPU reactivated many of the mining sites for which Proserpina was originally colonized. It was through these operations that remains of the Lemurians, the alien race responsible for much of the biodiversity on Gaia, was discovered along with some of its biotechnology. These sites were eagerly plundered by the FPU, which would ultimately awaken the Aliens' Final Creation.

Reintegration by Daedalus 13

Main Article: Main_Page.

The crew of Daedalus 13 arrived to find a very divided planet, with factions representing the defunct Eridani Trust, the Sirius Military Consulate, and the Free Proserpina Union. They crash landed on the planet due to traps set up in orbit causing a core breach, and although they could update the leadership of the Sirius Military Consulate they could not open the wormhole from their end. The actions of the crew will help determine the fate of Proserpina.

Geology and Environment

Proserpina is an earth sized planet tidally locked to a red dwarf star. This means that approximately the same substellar point on the planet faces the star Kapteyn throughout the year on Proserpina, although the planet's irregular orbit introduces some seasonality. Rather than boiling off into space, Proserpina's atmosphere is maintained by a constant eastern jet stream alternating air across the frozen dark side and the light side of the planet. The substellar point is very humid and perpetually overcast as much of the planet's evaporated water congregates over it. This intense cloud cover allows much of the heat directed at the planet to be reflected and not absorbed by the planet, keeping it within habitable temperatures (Proserpina's features are based on this 2013 study).

Proserpina has one moon, Eurydice, believed to be uninhabited.

Solar Farm

Located high in the atmosphere, the solar farm is one if the primary energy harvest locations on Proserpina.

Inhabited Zone

One of the planet's population centers that receives moderate rainfall, sunlight, and temperature. It contains a military base.

Molten Jungle

(Concept 1) The Molten jungle is one of very few known naturally occurring subterranean jungles. The constant flow of magma within the caverns creates light and heat used year-round by resident plant-like autotrophs. Many of these plants take the form of draping vines that create a heat differential that allow generation of ATP.

(Concept 2) Cooling lava deposits igneous rocks within microbial bools, allowing these autotrophic lithotrophs to reduce the iron and sulfur in the presence of oxygen poor water to create hydrogen gas for internal use. This process excretes organic compounds which are used by macroscopic fungi-like creatures that form the "jungle". (This hypothetical ecosystem is based on these earth microbes).

Creatures in this environment tend to be low to the ground when in the direct presence of lava flows. The more the angle between the organisms and the lava flow approaches the lava's 90° surface normal, the more intensely light is shone on the organisms. Toxic fumes are to some extent negated by airflow that rises above the lava, sucking cold air in towards it. Due to the aforementioned angling, organisms to not grow above 6 feet when closer than about 9 meters (These limitations are based on this post).

Stormlands

The Stormlands is a sparsely populated and perpetually overcast mountainous region near the center of the planet. The constant eastward wind coupled with the heating on the substellar point causes most water to be evaporated before the zenith, resulting in Kapteyn's perpetual storm. The Stormlands experience more lightning and precipitation than any other region on the planet.

Crystal Mine Shaft

The mine shaft tunnels deep into the planet, and is under the exclusive control of the Free Proserpina Union. While the shaft is one of several mining operations throughout the planet, the FPU took particular militaristic interest in the Mine Shaft because it led to the eventual discover of the Athenaeum.

Athenaeum

A bunker of alien origin, the Athenaeum contains genetic technology unheard of in the inhabited universe. Several species on Gaia can trace their lineage to this area, which functioned as a laboratory and information repository.

Zenith

The Zenith is a place hostile to most life. Located in the eye of Kapteyn's storm, the atmosphere is heated to intolerable levels and blown across at high speeds, greatly increasing heat transfer. A few artificial locations are accessible in the Zenith, however they require constant monitoring and even then should not be traversed without protective equipment. (Couldn't strictly exist given the aforementioned model.)