Keo Terra

Introduction

Keo Terra stands as the declared home world of Keo Terra Interstellar (KTI), a planet that embodies the ambition, power, and influence of one of humanity’s most formidable hyper-corporations. This temperate and oceanic world serves as both corporate capital and cultural beacon, representing KTI’s union of commerce, innovation, and political authority. It is here that the House Francois governs an empire that stretches across dozens of systems in the Terran Core.

Geography and Environment

Keo Terra’s geography is defined by contrast and abundance. With a radius of 8,979 km and a gravity of 1.13 G, it is slightly heavier than Earth but equally lush. Seventy percent of the planet’s surface is covered in oceans, while its two supercontinents — lush southern Arvalen and arid northern Kalthis — are connected by rich equatorial seas. A network of archipelagos forms vital trade and research hubs. Its mean temperature of 281K (8°C) supports a wide range of climates, from rainforests and river valleys to wind-carved deserts and alpine ranges.

The atmosphere, measured at 0.31 atm, is thinner than Earth’s but fully breathable due to adaptive terraforming and atmospheric regulators. Towering cloud fronts mark its equatorial storm belts, fueling powerful hydroelectric systems that sustain its megacities.

Urbanization and Society

Keo Terra’s population surpasses 51 million, distributed among seven major cities interconnected by maglev grids and orbital lifts. Each metropolis is a hybrid of administrative, cultural, and industrial design — vertical spires rise above terraced greenbelts and glittering skylanes. The capital, Francois Prime, stands as the seat of the ruling family and corporate authority. From here, the House Francois directs policy across all KTI-controlled systems.

The society is strictly stratified: House Francois at the apex; below them, the Corporates and Executives; followed by the professional Middle Class and the service-based Common Class. While hierarchical, this structure ensures stability, efficiency, and continuity under a constitutional corporatocracy that blends political and economic governance.

Economy and Governance

Keo Terra’s economy is an interstellar powerhouse built on finance, energy, and shipbuilding. Corporate conglomerates headquartered here direct operations spanning mining, logistics, and trade. The planetary economy operates under KTI’s chartered constitution, ensuring centralized oversight and free-market innovation balanced by strict corporate law.

Conclusion

Keo Terra is both symbol and reality — a living statement of corporate civilization’s triumph. Beneath its tranquil seas and gleaming skylines lies the machinery of empire, uniting millions in pursuit of prosperity and progress under the banner of KTI.

Inca

Introduction

Inca is a significant world within the Keo Terra Interstellar (KTI) domain, colonized shortly after the founding of the central planet Keo Terra. Although Inca is not classified as a garden world, it has proven to be highly habitable and strategically important. With its heavier gravity and warmer climate, Inca offers a unique environment that has fostered a thriving society. The planet has become an essential hub for agriculture, politics, culture, and even tourism within the KTI system.

Geographical and Environmental Overview

Inca’s environment presents a distinct set of conditions that have shaped the development and lifestyle of its inhabitants, defined by its heavy gravity, extreme warmth, and concentrated water sources that carve lifelines across its rugged terrain.

Size and Gravity: With a radius of 5,894 kilometers and a surface gravity of 1.11g, Inca is slightly smaller than Earth but exerts a stronger gravitational pull. This increased gravity influences every aspect of daily life, from the stamina required of its residents to the way structures and vehicles are designed to withstand heavier loads and stresses.

Climate and Atmosphere: Inca is an exceptionally warm world, with a mean temperature of 325K (52°C). Its dense atmosphere, measured at 2.05 atm, traps heat and maintains high surface temperatures across much of the planet. This climate fosters unique ecosystems dominated by heat-resistant flora and fauna, adapted to withstand prolonged exposure to high temperatures. For human inhabitants, specialized cooling technologies, lightweight fabrics, and energy-intensive infrastructure are essential for survival and comfort in the planet’s oppressive heat.

Water and Terrain: Despite its arid expanses, Inca possesses significant water resources, with a Water/Ice Index of 37.56. Water is concentrated in a network of vast lakes, meandering rivers, and occasional inland basins that are critical to both settlement and agriculture. These waterways create narrow belts of fertile land that contrast starkly with the surrounding arid plains and barren uplands. From orbit, green zones encircle the lakes and rivers, forming natural hubs of life and cultivation in an otherwise dry environment.

Colonial Development

Inca’s colonization was a strategic move by Keo Terra Interstellar, driven by the planet’s potential for agriculture and its proximity to the central world of Keo Terra. Early settlers established domed habitats, irrigation systems, and atmospheric regulators, laying the groundwork for the lush agrarian belts that now define the world. Over time, it evolved into one of KTI’s key economic contributors and cultural anchors.

Urban Centers

Ardas: The capital city of Inca, Ardas is both political hub and cultural heart. Its shimmering white towers are equipped with climate-regulated shells and vast cooling ducts that vent heat into upper atmosphere layers. The city hosts the planet’s central government, trade halls, and embassies, making it the most influential metropolis outside Keo Terra itself.

Jordas and Ghendi: These twin megacities dominate industrial and agricultural sectors, respectively. Jordas oversees mining and atmospheric engineering, while Ghendi’s sprawling hydroponic domes supply food across the KTI Core. Both cities are connected via orbital elevators and subterranean transport grids linking them to the planet’s ports.

Economy and Industry

Agriculture forms the foundation of Inca’s economy, supported by mineral extraction and tourism. Genetically enhanced crops and livestock are cultivated under extreme conditions, supplying food to KTI’s colonies. Mining operations in the highlands extract valuable silicates and ores. Tourism flourishes around the planet’s lakes and historical ruins, attracting visitors from Keo Terra seeking warmth and recreation.

Conclusion

Inca embodies adaptation through ingenuity — a planet of intense heat transformed into a vital artery of sustenance and culture. Its people’s endurance and creativity mirror the strength of KTI itself, ensuring Inca’s continued prominence among Terran colonies.

Velorr

Introduction

Velorr — from *Vel-ur*, meaning “Stronghold of Vel” — is a fortress world orbiting Gliese 250, constructed to guard Consortium commerce routes and outer colonies. It is both a citadel and a symbol: the steel bulwark of Cetian unity, where defense and discipline form the foundation of life.

Geography and Environment

Velorr’s surface is dominated by stone mesas, desert basins, and cratered ridges stabilized by vast planetary shields. Its radius is 4,938 km with gravity 0.86 G. Atmospheric density of 0.72 atm sustains a dry, breathable climate averaging 293 K (20 °C). The Water/Ice Index of 9.8 marks scarce natural water — most moisture harvested from air through massive condenser spires rising above fortress skylines.

From orbit, Velorr appears bronze-gold, its deserts interrupted by geometric fortress complexes and shimmering solar towers. Despite its arid terrain, the planet is self-sufficient through subterranean hydro-vaults and solar-driven desalination networks.

Settlements and Society

Population 3.9 million, distributed among nine bastion-cities. Each bastion is an independent stronghold, both civic center and defensive array. The capital, Vel Kharos, is a monumental star-shaped city carved directly into the bedrock, surrounded by concentric rings of living quarters, academies, and orbital defense coordination towers.

Citizens of Velorr live by the Doctrine of Shields — every life serves a purpose in protection of another. Society is communal, orderly, and stratified by merit. Children train from adolescence in mechanical arts, governance, and planetary defense disciplines. Loyalty is prized above ambition, and cooperation above pride.

Economy and Strategic Role

Velorr sustains the Consortium’s defensive fleet production. Its foundries craft armor composites and atmospheric vehicle hulls capable of withstanding both vacuum and re-entry. Shipwright domes operate day and night, turning desert ore into vessels of gleaming precision.

Strategically, Velorr anchors the southern approach to Cetian space. Its orbital defense ring — the Auric Crown — houses plasma interceptors and sensor arrays that monitor interstellar trade routes. Because of this vigilance, piracy and incursion near Consortium borders remain rare.

Culture and Legacy

Velorr’s people consider service the highest form of art. Festivals commemorate historic victories but also celebrate peace through preparedness. Choral traditions, marching harmonics, and kinetic sculptures adorn civic plazas, blending aesthetic grace with martial discipline. Every fortress houses a Hall of Names — etched records of those who served, ensuring remembrance as immortality.

Conclusion

Velorr is the unbroken wall of the Consortium — harsh, brilliant, and unyielding. Its people breathe vigilance; its deserts echo with the hum of steel and song. In Velorr’s heart, the strength of the Cetian spirit stands eternal.

Thalos

Introduction

Thalos — derived from *Tal-os*, “High Ground” — is a windswept plateau world orbiting Luyten’s Star B (Gliese 65). Once a marginal frontier, it evolved into the Consortium’s foremost defensive bastion, a world where vigilance is creed and fortitude tradition. Thalos guards the periphery of Cetian space, its culture steeped in watchfulness and strategic discipline.

Geography and Environment

With a radius of 4,612 km and gravity of 0.84 G, Thalos is dominated by mountain ranges and vast elevated mesas overlooking deep ravines. The atmosphere (0.63 atm) produces high-velocity jet streams and dramatic climate contrasts — arid plateaus, frozen highlands, and narrow habitable valleys warmed by geothermal pockets. Average temperature hovers near 275 K (2 °C), with severe seasonal winds shaping every aspect of life.

Soil fertility is limited, but local vegetation evolved to cling to stone and moisture-trap from fog. These hardy native plants became models for Consortium terraforming across other high-altitude colonies.

Colonization and Urbanization

Initial settlement began as military encampments. Over centuries they evolved into walled citadels and subterranean cities linked by suspended transport bridges across the canyons. The planetary capital, Hareth Kaar, crowns a 12-kilometer plateau, surrounded by tiered bastions and defense rings integrated directly into the rock.

Thalos’s 1.1 million inhabitants maintain a disciplined social hierarchy centered on duty and preparedness. Education emphasizes strategy, aeronautics, and environmental engineering. Young citizens serve mandatory service cycles known as the *Watch Years*, reinforcing unity and civic competence.

Economy and Strategic Role

Thalos functions as both fortress and academy. Its industries specialize in high-altitude construction, atmospheric craft, and precision weapons manufacturing. Energy derives from geothermal stations embedded within mountain roots, while wind-harvest towers feed surplus power to the grid.

As the Consortium’s sentinel world, Thalos hosts military colleges and defense research divisions, training both Cetian and Terran allied officers. Its orbital bastions guard critical trade corridors leading toward Terran sectors, making it indispensable to interstellar security.

Conclusion

Thalos stands forever watchful — a citadel amid storms. In its heights the Cetians embody vigilance as virtue, transforming harsh terrain into fortress and philosophy alike. Where others see desolation, Thalos sees duty.