Achernar System
The Achernar System is an inhabited star system in the Romulan Free State. It is a binary star system consisting of the B-class stars Alpha Eridani A, also known as Achernar, and Alpha Eridani B. The star system is also referred to as Alpha Eridani or Atlai'fehill, and is visible from Earth in the constellation Eridanus. In the 2150s, the planet Alpha Eridani II was colonised by United Earth, occasionally given the misnomer of Alpha Proxima II in contemporary star charts of the time. The colony was abandoned by the time the Old Romulan Star Empire claimed the Achernar system during the Earth-Romulan War. In 2393, the Romulan government of the Achernar System allied their planets and resources with the Romulan Free State.
Overview
The rapid rotational velocity of the star, Alpha Eridani A, causes it to have an especially oblate shape, one of the least spherical stars known to the Milky Way Galaxy. The original United Earth colony of Heliopolis, and its rumoured haunting by the Redjac entity, have been long demolished and buried beneath centuries of development by Romulan empires since the 22nd century. The worlds and moons of Achernar have been terraformed by the Romulans for farming, mining and habitation, earning a reputation as one of the Romulan Star Empire's core colonies in its day. Resources have been most-often afforded to the system's greatest population centre, Alpha Eridani II. As a result, many of the other planets and moons are living with a mish-mash of jury-rigged habitats and equipment from every era across the past three hundred years. Even on Alpha Eridani II, Romulan refugees from the homeworld have driven population growth toward 8 billion, slightly more than the infrastructure can sustain. Wealth disparity has increased as a result, with Tal Shiar, government and state-sanctioned artists afforded far greater comforts than the rest of the masses.
A space station orbits uninhabited Alpha Eridani I. Disguised as a planetary defence platform, the space station is a Tal Shiar listening post, equipped with long-range communication tracking systems trained on the Romulan Republic and United Federation of Planets borders. The defection of the Achernar System government from the Romulan Star Empire to the Romulan Free State in 2393 was a pivotal moment in the legitimisation of the Free State as a territory and entity in its own right. The victory of the Tal Shiar Navy over the Star Navy is a significant cultural touchpoint for the residents of Achernar. Its population demonstrate a feverish pride in their exceptionalism as both a great prize and heroic liberator of the Free State. By 2402, the Tal Shiar Navy engage in regular patrols and postings across Achernar.
In Play
- Achernar is a well-established Romulan colony system exploiting every natural resource available. While Alpha Eridani II contains modern mega-cities that rival those we've seen on Romulus, the other colony moons and worlds are more agricultural and have fallen into disrepair.
External Information
- Achernar (system) at Memory Alpha
- Alpha Eridani II (planet) at Memory Alpha