Sirius System

The Sirius System is a binary star system that is part of the Core Region directly administered by the National Council of the GTU. It contain five planets, two of which are not only colonizable, but as in the 24th century both the Arcadia and Sirius Prime constitutes one of the most populated planets in the galaxy. In particular, the planet of Arcadia serves as the Headquarters of the Expeditionary Fleets, and the system as a whole, is reputed for being one of the mankind's most important centres of finances, manufacturing, shipbuilding and military industry on par with Earth, Vaikuntha and Volga.

History

Early Observation and Exploration Phase

The Sirius system is one of the star system bordering Sol, notably known for being one of the brightest star that are visible on the Earth's sky. Prior to the Tyrum Incursion of Sol, corporations and national governments such as the European Federation, China, United States of Korea, Japan and the United States of America had already sent an exploratory probe on the system, with the Chinese and Korean in particular confirms the presence of what would be Arcadia and Sirius Prime, albeit neither nations could confirm its habitability at that time.

However, much of the vibrant unmanned exploration program within the system (and by greater extend, the Earth's collective extrasolar space program as a whole) was abruptly cut short by the Tyrum invasion on Earth, with all the unmanned space probe sent to the area either went dormant or cease to function entirely due to the lack of communication of the already destroyed space centers on Earth.

Nevertheless, at least two of the dormant probe owned by SpaceX (USA) and KARI (Korea) are advanced enough to at least store information during dormancy period without suffering extensive data corruption, both of which are then reclaimed by the crew of TUS Hawking during their exploration on the star system in 2201.

Early Colonization Phase

The second surveying expedition soon proceeds by the initiative of the Greater Terran Union in 2204. Using the information from the recovered unmanned probe three years earlier, the system was confirmed to contain two habitable world, one with far greater prospects then was found in the nearby Alpha Centauri system. At least one of the planet are Earth-like with the whopping habitability rate of 86%, and another less habitable planet that can be terraformed later on. For the ruling regimes of GTU, this discovery are seen as a godsend opportunity as the system itself are exceptionally rich with resources and living space, both of which are sorely needed for the growing industries and population of Earth.

In 2206, the National Council approved "Project Exodus I", the first successful interstellar colony mission to be undertaken by humanity. On Christmas Eve, 2207, the world was colonized by a team consisting of some of the Unions best and brightest minds. They would rename the world Arcadia a a homage of the verdant, lush environment of the planet, and the capital city on the planet Nova Akkad by the suggestion of the participating Iraqi colonist at that time. The naming of the world are based on the Greek's utopian vision of unspoilt nature, pastoralism and harmony with nature, while the naming of the capital city are derived from Akkad, believed to be one of the first cities of humanity on Earth. Both name are picked by the romantically inclined colonists prevailed in the symbolism of the first non-terrestrial human settlement to named after its first terrestrial one.

Colony Development Phase

The successful colonization of Arcadia prompted the National Council to embark a much aggressive exploration/colonization of its surrounding region, doubling the GTU's territories by sixteen fold by a mere decade. For Sirius system in particular, the National Council hastened the Exodus II program, as millions of Terran citizens are sent in droves to the growing colonies of Arcadia to further develop the region. In order to entice the GTU citizenry to embark on the program, many privileges in form of rapid increase of tier citizenship are offered for this endeavor.

The reason for the National Council's aggressive colonization campaign are largely rooted on three reason; to allow greater extraction of resources necessary for the GTU's military expansion, to outsource and expands the industrial capacity of the nation as the whole, as well to reduce the population burden on Earth. The latter are given extreme importance as the ecological restoration of the Earth after its widespread destruction by the Tyrum is still in progress, and some region, chiefly the ecologically-rich South America, Africa and Sunda Commissariat had its population swelled by the influx of refugees during the war (being mostly free from Tyrum occupation territory-wise), as well its rapid population increase and its seemingly endless post-war immigration into the region (being arguably the least damaged and thus the first to recover after the war) and thus more likely to have its ecology restoration process threatened by the demand of living space and inevitable increase of development on the region. Thus, much of its ethnic makeup of the Arcadia today are largely dominated by the Austronesian, Thais, Brazilian and African people due to the policy of colonization priority, long after the Exodus II ended.

By the year 2224, the population of Arcadia become the first to reach 1 billion mark, merely 17 after the colonies' founding, closely followed by Triumph in 2229, and the record are only to be broken decades later by the Karma in the Vaikuntha system decades later (the planet reach its 1 billion mark in 9 years). Arcadia eventually grows as one of the most prosperous planet in the whole of GTU and later, the Milky Way galaxy.

Militarization of Sirius System

The colony and system as a whole underwent a rapid infrastructural expansion, and following the national councils decision to reform the Space Warfare Branch into the Fleet Command it become clear that the new branch require a fully dedicated manufacturing and supply hub of its own. A period of intense debate ensued with many arguing that Earth should handle the bulk of Fleet Commands requirements. However much of the human population still remained in the Sol System and by necessity much of the orbital infrastructure and manufacturing was geared towards civilian uses and could not be re-purposed to meet fleet requirements without causing massive disruption. Subsequently Sirius was awarded the honor of being the primary shipyard of Fleet Command, and would ultimately play host to the Headquarters of the Expeditionary Fleets (those fleets operating beyond the stellar boundary of Sol). It was for all intents and purposes the Naval headquarters, though Fleet Command did maintain a formal headquarters in London on Earth that served a largely ceremonial function.

As consequence of this the entire planet became one of the most militarized planet in the whole galaxy, an impressive feat given of the humanity's martial culture. As it grew to become a host of millions of the FLEETCOM's sailors, the number of its marine division and its Land Force garrison grew as well in accordance to its military importance. It soon hosted the Sirius Shipyard and the planet-based Kesatria Military Complex (Kesatria is the Malay word for knights, itself are rooted from Sanskrit word kshatriya), a sprawling joint headquarter of Fleet Command and the Land Force Command Sirius Garrison, both of it are regarded as the largest military facility in the galaxy bar none. Furthermore, it also hosted the gargantuan Sirius Arms , one of the galaxy's largest arms producer famed for its production of Union Class Dreadnaughts and the Sword of Terra, in which its myriad of factories had greatly contributed to the economic prosperity of the Arcadia and the Sirius Prime later on.

The militarization of Sirius are not only limited on its infrastructure, as its multiracial citizens slowly develop a unique culture that are deeply tied with the Terran Armed Forces. Its citizenry are typically known for its national patriotism and high-tier military professionalism. The common saying of 'The Sirius called for crusade/jihad' are due to its citizens/soldiers are predominantly comprised of the Muslim and Catholic in term of professed faith, and a great many of its prominent officers in the FLEETCOM are often hailed from either Arcadia or Sirius Prime.

Sirius Golden Age

The importance of Sirius as a strategic system only grew as the Greater Terran Union found itself involved with multiple war, such as the centuries-spanning Terran-Compact War, Terran-Peronisti War and the Florian crusade against Terra. The system itself was the terminus node of a hyperspace lane that connected the core systems and the Commissariats beyond with the outer rim commissariat, as well being directly linked with the heavily fortified Verdun system bordering with Algan-Terran border. Furthermore, it eventually serve as the shield of the Barnard Star system where the galaxy's sole Dyson Sphere are constructed. This extreme strategic importance thus necessitate a direct governance from the homeworld of Earth and the massive economic investment that came with it.

By the beginning of the 25th century, the Sirius system as a whole become one of the richest system in the galaxy, boasting one of the highest standard of living in the GTU. By the beginning of the First Galactic War, the system as the whole had the population of 32 billion, with the Arcadia standing at 20 billion and the Sirius Prime at 12 billion.

Battle of Sirius

During the First Galactic War, its strategic importance would make it the primary target of the NEX Network as they seize control of its mighty shipyards and used their output to siege both the Sol and the ever-important Bernard's Star, without much success. Arcadia and Sirius Prime itself was subjected to an indiscriminate campaign of genocide and occasional orbital bombing upon the population by nightmarish machine constructs, though the military nature of the population meant that resistance was fierce. At the Battle of Sirius, the system and planet would be liberated by forces dispatched by the Aurora commissariat.