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Midgar1

The Ungae Palace and Vacation Resort on Midgar

The Midgar system lies in the galactic west of the Holy Terran Empire, near the border with the K'Nes Llan.  It is currently ruled by Daimyo Katsuhiro as a fiefdom of House Yasuyama, and the planetary government is set up to emulate Feudal Japan.

History[]

Founding[]

Midgar was settled shortly after the founding of New Tokyo in 2216, not because the system was militarily or economically important, but mainly so humanity could stake a claim the galactic western frontier that was quickly being colonized by the K'Nes and Jurvain aliens.  Two years later in 2218, the Treaty of Midgar establishes the borders between the K’Nes Tor, Jurvain Commonality, and the Earth Federation.  After the treaty was signed, however, the planet was largely ignored by the Federation due to its lack of strategic importance or raw materials.

Third Civil War[]

Early in the Third Civil War, it was briefly conquered by the K'Nes Tor in February 2243.  The Tor Navy first destroyed the system's orbital defense network, then the K'Nes warships bombarded the planet into submission.  The handful of Light Infantry left on Midgar (the Tech Infantry garrison having been withdrawn the fight in Grand Council Loyalists) turned insurgent and tried to fight the K'Nes Occupation.  Although they weren't terribly successful, K'Nes Tor Emperor Horrath III decided the risks of war outweighed the profits to be gained from such an unimportant system, and unilaterally withdrew K'Nes forces from Midgar four months later in hopes of building up goodwill with the various human factions prior to signing a peace treaty.

The planetary leaders left in charge of Midgar by the retreating K'Nes applied for membership in the neutral Frontier Worlds Territory (FWT), and were accepted.  But this membership did not last long, as mere months later, the changing balance of power after the bloody Battle of Avalon led to the K'Nes allying with the Jurvain to dismember the FWT between them.  The FWT quickly collapsed to the alien onslaught, and the K'Nes Tor targeted Midgar next.

The leaders of Midgar appealed to the Tech Infantry Rebels faction for help, which arrived in the form of an expeditionary force led by newly-returned-from-the-dead General Alastar Dimiye and his new Dead Boys Division.  Unlike the first, the Second Battle of Midgar saw fighting that was both fierce and bloody, with nuclear weapons being deployed on the surface in large numbers.  In the end, Midgar was conquered by the K'Nes Tor Army led by Praetor Narrah.

For the next few years, the K'Nes occupation was surprisingly peaceful as K'Nes preferred to maintain order through politics, diplomacy, trade deals, and outright bribes rather than force... although any resistance movements that did pop up were put down hard, fast, and violently.  A few years after the Third Civil War ended, Federation Chairman Arthur Clarke's new government would retake Midgar and impose a Quarantine Zone upon the K'Nes in retaliation.

Peace & Development[]

Chairman Clarke took a personal interest in the system, and saw to it that the environmental contamination from the fighting was cleaned up in only a few years.  With the fighting over, a Federation program to provide high-quality land and housing to retired and disabled Tech Infantry veterans led to a property boom on the northern continent.  Due to the proximity to New Tokyo and the easy travel through the jumpgate connecting the system, Midgar also became a preferred place for many of the upper elite from New Tokyo to vacation or build second homes, mainly on the southern continent.

With an entire industry of health care and recreational activities catering to the elderly, the retired, and the disabled, it also briefly became a popular retirement destination for wealthy and middle-class businessmen from all over the Federation.  Golf courses, small tasteful casinos, expensive coastal hotels and ski resorts are were built, but many were still left unfinished when the Caal Invasion shattered the Federation.

Ascension War[]

In the chaotic Ascension War that followed, Midgar joined the Ministry of Public Safety, mainly for mutual security and stability.  Within a few months, however, (and partly at the urging from Midgar's Tech Infantry retiree community), the Ministry agreed to unify with the Rump Federation.  Unfortunately, mere hours after Chief Minister Aisha Ramirez secretly signed the Reunification Treaty on Midgar, she was assassinated by a pair of yakuza werewolves, although their motives were never made clear.  (In reality, they were framed; Ramirez was actually murdered by William Bishop and Michelle Fisher under orders from Sabbat Regent Mordred.)  Public outrage over the assassination of their Chief Minister touched off the Red Spring rebellions throughout the former Ministry systems, events that ultimately played a major role in the eventual defeat of the Federation by the Holy Terran Empire.

The end of the war saw millions of former Earth Fleet spacers and Tech Infantry soldiers left unwilling to serve in the Imperial Navy or Imperial Army, yet without other training and skills with which to find employment.  To avoid further fighting, many of these veterans were granted pensions by Herbert Gergenstein of House Vendo and resettled on Midgar, to join the already-existing military retiree community.  Consequently, Midgar was absorbed more-or-less peacefully into the Empire.

Today[]

The Empire's recent dismantling of the jumpgate network  made commuting between the Midgar and New Tokyo systems much more of a hassle, leading to many part-time Asian residents leaving while others effectively became stranded and simply had to make the most of it.  Consequently, Midgar's southern continent retains a strong Asian flavor (including a yakuza underworld) to this day, and is still known as "New Tokyo Island".  Due to its large Asian population from New Tokyo (and suspect loyalty to the Empire), Midgar was granted as a fiefdom to House Yasuyama, and is ruled on their behalf by Midgar native Daimyo Katsuhiro.  Not surprisingly, this decision did not go over well among the much larger, non-Asian population of the northern continent.

More importantly, the end of the jumpgate network caused a severe economic recession on Midgar.  Without the previous volume of tourist income and imported goods, the system has also had to become much more economically self-sufficient and make do with what was available.

Part of Midgar's economic survival has come from illegal contraband.  Although the Empire has a trade embargo and naval blockade of the K'Nes Llan in place, the border leaks like a sieve.  Being close to the K'Nes border, full of retired spacers, and with many companies still having K'Nes business contacts left over from the brief K'Nes occupation of Midgar, the system quickly became a hub of smuggling, with Daimyo Katsuhiro and House Yasuyama looking the other way in exchange for a cut of the profits.  K'Nes smugglers sneak in contraband, including K'Nes manufactured goods now in high demand throughout the Empire on the less developed worlds, and sell it to the yakuza of New Tokyo Island, who in turn distribute it throughout the Empire using their own vast underground transportation networks.

Geography[]

Midgar is a mineral poor terrestrial world orbiting a binary star system.  Due to its distance from the suns, being similar to Earth, and a near-constant amount of radiation received throughout the year from the suns, the temperatures tend to be warm with little variation.

There are two continents on this planet, one somewhat larger than the other.  The middle of the smaller southern continent (although still very large) is located between tropical and subtropical zones.  It has many jungles and the planet's highest mountains.  The larger continent is located in the northern hemisphere with the northern half of the continent in a temperate zone and southern half in the subtropical zone.  This continent has a concentration of jungles along the southern coast with forests occupying the central and northern areas.  It has mountains in the center.  While they are not as tall as the mountains on the smaller continent, they are still tall by earth standards.  The southern continent also holds the planetary capital city of Asgaroth, home to about one million people.

This planet is noted for its constant warm air, spectacular mountains, and breathtaking double sunsets due to the stars it orbits.

Midgar is also known for its unusual pacifistic native inhabitants called the Ungae who live on the northern continent.  They are unusual, because while they look much like humans they have purple skin, appear to be slightly overweight, and have disproportionally large biceps.  They have a peculiar dialect and are an agrarian people.  One reason that the Federation has allowed them to continue to live in some of the more desirable areas that they provide excess food to the human population in exchange for minor trinkets.  The people that consume the food provided by the natives are noticeably more healthy.

Demographics[]

The current population of this planet is around twelve million.  There was little communication between New Tokyo Island (the southern continent) and the TI Retirees Island (the northern continent) except for mutual agreements regarding zoning laws and building permits.  Strict zoning laws were in place limiting the height of the buildings to prevent the construction of skyscrapers to keep them from ruining the landscape and views.  Building permits for factories and buildings that could tarnish the environment were previously outlawed, to preserve the planet's natural beauty as a draw for tourists and further waves of wealthy retirees.

The end of the jumpgate network changed things greatly.  With tourism greatly reduced and few able to afford off-world retirement homes, and greater competition from the Caal-emptied systems to the Galactic Southeast for the few remaining people willing to relocate for retirement, Midgar has had to loosen its building codes to allow more intensive agriculture and industry in the past decade.

Behind the Scenes[]

Midgar is named after the term for Earth in Norse mythology; literally "middle earth."  Although with names like Hrothgar and Andersvald, it's plausible to be on the map.  The Ungae natives are inspired by the "Natives" special event from the video game Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares.