Candera Prime
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- "The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
- — Isaac Asimov
Candera Prime is an M class planet near the Azure Nebula and the Romulan border. While the planet is habitable, and in the M class range, the United Federation of Planets deemed it too unsuitable for a colony world due to it's rocky and mountainous terrain and low percentage of surface water coverage.
That did not stop the Federation Science Division from establishing several research outposts on the surface to monitor the natural development of the planet, local spacial phenomenon, and other items that were unique to the region. Over the last several years, the most substantial research on the planet has come from Devol Outpost on the northern continent, after they acquired a Borg relic.
History
Flagged for colonization in 2261, Candera Prime quickly went from hopeful colony to hopeless effort to booming research planet in very rapid succession. Once it was deemed unfit for general civilian colonization, the Federation Science Division laid claim to the surface, hoping to use it to research nearby galactic phenomenon. The planet has been heavily developed for scientific research, but full colonization remains a distant dream.
Founding
Candera Prime was originally flagged for evaluation in 2261, but it was not until 2289 that the Federation teams actually set foot on the planet. Orbiting in the habitable ring of a Yellow Giant, the planet had the perfect temperate atmosphere and long range scans indicated it would be an excellent place for a colony. That all changed once the teams made it to the surface.
It became clear that the planet had undergone substantial seismic activity during it's formation. While the mantle of the planet had stabilized and seismic activity had reduced to a very rare occurrence, it had left the surface of the planet jagged and rocky. The level of effort to colonize on the planet would have been far higher than the yield of living there. The Federation was about to mark the planet off entirely when the Sciences Division stepped up with plans to build secure research facilities on the surface.
Over the next hundred years, that's exactly what happened. Candera Prime is now dotted with over sixty research facilities, and even has a capital city built around the original research station. While the planet is still not fit for general colonization and only boasts a population of 32,455, it has proven to be a unique source of inspiration for researchers and dreamers alike.
A Piece of Horror
In 2394, Doctor Shrini Pavel of Devol Outpost encountered a trader that was in possession of a massive chunk of a Borg Cube. After a great deal of negotiation, the good Doctor acquired the chunk for an amount that was oddly lost from the record of the exchange. The piece of Cube has been kept in Secured Storage within Devol Outpost since that time, undergoing extensive research and experimentation.
Since the Cube has arrived, the researchers and scientists in the Outpost have claimed that there's been odd disturbances and that sometimes they hear unfamiliar noises in the hallways. There's been no evidence to suggest that any of that is true, but the relic has definitely left people on edge.
Dangerous Development
In spite of misgivings and worries around the safety of the Borg cube chunk, the research into it has provided incredible advances in warp field mechanics, shield harmonics, and other technologies. Findings from the advanced systems and regeneration chambers of the Cube have even worked their way into modern computer and medical technology. The relic has provided an incredible amount of technological understanding and advancement.
Environment
Candera Prime has an arctic environment at the poles that quickly shifts to temperate for the majority of the rest of the planet. Candera City and most of the Outposts across the planet's surface see temperatures between 10°C and 32°C with the changing of the seasons. The atmosphere is easily breathable by humans and the gravity is slightly higher than Earth's.
The planet is mostly rocky and mountainous with the majority of the oxygen in the atmosphere being generated by moss and lichen across the planet. In the few places where trees and ground foliage do grow, they are generally short and sturdy. Some of these areas have been converted to farmland over the years, but only in small segments. The majority of the people on the planet rely upon hydroponic gardens in Candera City for their food.
The planet has no deserts to speak of, and the ocean coverage accounts for only 32% of the surface. There is some geological evidence that indicates that this planet did have desert terrain at one point in the past, but due to shifts in the poles over the millennia, that is no longer the case. There is also evidence that the oceans on the surface used to cover much more of the planet, and recent data indicates that the oceans may increase in size once again.
Notable Locations
Candera City
Nova Outpost was the first research outpost established on Candera Prime in 2296. In the following one-hundred and five years, the Outpost was expanded and enhanced and eventually renamed to Candera City, and declared an actual city. It became the official capital of Candera Prime and is now home to over 15,000 researchers and civilians.
Candera City has a spaceport, civilian district complete with restaurants, entertainment, retail, and residential provisions, a massive research facility and a small Federation Embassy. Despite it's small populace, Candera City can easily stand on it's own when it comes to resources and amenities.
Devol Outpost
Founded in 2377, Devol Outpost is one of the newer outposts on the surface.
Notable Groups
Federation Science Labs
Notable figures
Doctor Shrini Pavel