Gela, Rhorde System
| Planet Name | Gela |
|---|---|
| Stellar Classification | Orange Main Sequence |
| Habitability Grade | A3 |
| Satellites | 3 |
| Orbital Period | 276 days |
| Rotational Period | 22.5 hours |
| Capital | Cavalie |
| Population | 203 million (circa 31148); 98 million (Circa 31152), 0 (circa 31154) |
Gela is a gleaming gem of a planet; located in the approximate center of the Frontier. It possessed everything that an explorer could hope to find after endless months trapped in the confines of their ship. Her atmospheric composition and pressure, gravity, and temperature range all closely match those of Umbria itself.
Gela became a prime target for colonization, and the world's first settlers began to arrive in the 31000's. They would encounter some initial challenges with the local flora, which proved to cause gastric distress amongst the colonists. However, Gela's soil proved receptive to transplanted crop species, and minor genetic modification to a number of native fruits and vegetables greatly improved their palatability for the Umbrian settlers.
While these developments eased the immediate burden of supporting a growing population, the planet's viceroy and his council of advisors enacted strict containment policies on alien plants and animals. Great care was taken to preserve Gela's natural habitats, to the point where the planet's starports would spend up to two days screening newly arrived vessels for any foreign contaminants before releasing their cargo.
A number of tightly packed cities began to spring up across the planet, with Cavalie, the planet's capital, first amongst them. Images of Gela's pristine wilderness and its cities' effortless integration into the environment would be beamed throughout the Republic. People would flock to the planet, and within a generation the population had grown into the high eight digits.
News of the pastoral paradise in the Frontier would continue to draw immigrants to the planet. It didn't take long for some of the Republic's largest biomedical and agrotechnology firms to move to the planet. Most strikingly, Gela was selected to serve as the first planet in the Frontier to host of an Umbrian Academy of Sciences campus, greatly boosting the world's prestige.
These developments would differentiate life on Gela from other planets in the Frontier. It featured amenities and comforts that few other colonies could possess, and it's immigration board would use that fact to attract new residents using the tagline 'Developed planet living in the Frontier!'
By the turn of the 31140's, Gela's growth began to slow, peaking with a population of two hundred million residents. Once the Ascomanni appeared, that number would steadily shrink, slowly at first, then picking up speed as the Ascomanni pressed deeper into the Frontier.
The alien invaders would finally arrive in early 31153. While much of the planet had been evacuated, not all of the civilians had managed to escape, leading to a panicked breakdown in order as a few million residents fought over whatever means were available to evacuate the planet.
Despite the chaos, Praetor Lucia Artorius was able to hold back the aliens' initial assault, then drive them from the system with the aid of a fresh fleet of URN warships. This surprising victory, the first of its kind, provided the Republic time to evacuate the remaining civilians.
When the Asco reappeared, they found the planet deserted. They destroyed the remaining surveillance assets that had been left behind to monitor the system, but recent reconnaissance flights have shown an absence of Ascomanni activity.
The reason for the enemy abandoning a perfectly habitable world remain unknown, but the situation in the Frontier remains far too volatile to contemplate returning for the foreseeable future.