Ark Galactapedia

The Magnus system is a planetary system in the United Empire of Earth (UEE). It was discovered in 2499, and subsequently selected as the headquarters of the UEE Navy (UEEN). Once the center of a thriving industry centered around the UEEN’s shipbuilding facilities, the system’s economy crashed when the Navy moved their operations to Kilian in 2631. Though the system has entered a period of revitalization thanks to Drake Interplanetary establishing their headquarters and prime production facilities on Borea, its population is low compared to similarly aged systems in the UEE. It is made up of a chthonian planet, a terrestrial planet, a gas giant, and a K-type star.

In 2499, the Magnus system was discovered as a part of Project Far Star. Initial surveys of the system showed it to be uncommonly empty of asteroid fields, protoplanets, or other potential hazards for space travel. Only one of its three planets was identified as a good candidate for terraforming. The system’s then-remote location and abundance of natural resources found in the planet closest to the sun attracted the attention of the then-United Planets of Earth Navy (UPEN), who were in search of a new center for shipbuilding. After procuring funding from the Senate in 2533, the UPEN began a military-run, closed-terraforming operation on Magnus II.

The system’s star, Magnus, is an orange-red K-Type main sequence star that is roughly 5 billion years old. Magnus I, a mineral-rich chthonian planet, orbits closest to the sun. The UEE Navy maintains exclusive mining rights to it, dating from the early 26th century. The super-Jupiter Magnus III, noted for its multi-chromatic bands of gas, orbits the furthest from the sun. Borea (Magnus II), a rocky terrestrial planet, is the only habitable planet in the system. Residents of Borea sometimes claim to outsiders that a fourth planet called "Triggerfish" orbits beyond Magnus III. It does not. This led to the creation of the eponymous popular holiday.

Borea (Magnus II)

Borea is a temperate planet that was identified as a prime terraforming candidate when the system was discovered. It was held up as a landmark example of terraforming success, with many climates closely resembling those of Earth. A century of unfettered shipbuilding, however, polluted the atmosphere, essentially rolling back some of the changes previously made by terraforming and transforming the climate to the harsh one it is known for today.

Those who did not follow the Navy when it left for Kilian took up residence in Borea’s abandoned properties and started up businesses in cheap ship repair and bootleg components fueled by harvested scrap. The system developed a reputation as a place where people who wanted to escape their past could reinvent themselves, no questions asked.

The empty warehouses and monolithic industrial equipment deemed too expensive to transport by the UEEN are no longer being left to deteriorate. Drake Interplanetary purchased much of them from the UEE in 2845 for very low cost, opting to open factories and set up their headquarters in Odyssa on Borea instead of more cosmopolitan systems like Terra. Job opportunities are increasing, and once-disreputable ghost towns are being repaired as more and more people choose to migrate to Magnus. The system’s economy is slowly on the mend.