System Manual:Aurora Prime

Aurora Prime is the capital of the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet. It has one moon, Eos, which houses the Dark Brotherhood.

Aurora Prime is home to New Imperial City, Aurora Prime's capital, which is the major population center on Aurora Prime and the seat of the Emperor's Hammer. The planet also houses the Fleet Commander's private palace located on the outskirts of New Imperial City. In orbit around Aurora Prime is Clan Alvaak's housing: the Torpedo Sphere Empress Teta.

Geography

Aurora Prime is divided into four continents: Munos (northern), Lasthana (southern), Kalona (eastern), and New Laconica in the west, on the shores of which New Imperial City is situated. The majority of the world was covered by lush vegetation and small population centers that seemed to blend in to the landscape when the Emperor's Hammer arrived on the planet. Since the initial colonization of Aurora Prime the planet has slowly evolved into a technological center worthy of an interplanetary capital.

The northern continent of Munos sits over the northern magnetic pole, a flat and stony continent bereft of notable features or significant elevations. The landmass has, however, been extensively surveyed and the mineral resources beneath its icy skin have been mined since the first Imperial settlers on the planet. The military shipyards of the Emperor's Hammer all utilize metals extracted from the icy northern continent, whilst the coastal areas of the continent have proven as bountiful in maritime farming industry.

Lashtana, sitting over the southern magnetic pole, is very similar to Munos, albeit significantly smaller. The harsher climate of the southern continent has rendered it largely uninhabited, whilst the scarcity of mineral resources has left it largely unsettled. It is, however, a favored test site by the Imperial military, the harsh environment often used to train the Hammer's ground forces or even as weapons testing sites.

Kalona's massive landmass sits just above the northern tropic, a temperate landscape of rolling hills and stony uplands, split by wide glacial valleys and their steep sides forested, their level floors rich in alluvial deposits and minerals, well irrigated by the rivers flowing and cascading from the towering uplands. Imperial settlement has increased agricultural yields by over 800%, whilst forestry and even luxury industry has benefited from Imperial administration of, and demand for, the abundant natural resources.

Sitting astride the equatorial belt and the southern tropic, New Laconica's climate is warmer and more tropical, the temperate Kalonan forests replaced by sweltering swathes of jungle and rainforest, a major contributing factor to the advanced knowledge and skills of Auroran biochemists, a plentiful source of unique compounds and organisms the benefits of which continue to amaze Imperial scientists. The climate in certain areas may even prove suitable for supporting, in time, a variant of a synthetic bacta strain that would be of incalculable benefit to the Emperor's Hammer. The coastal areas of the continent are the most suitable for settlement, although the established infrastructure has made even the thickest jungle accessible. Numerous cities dot the coastal and inland area, whilst dozens of towns sit within the inner jungles. Whilst a number of smaller islands litter the wide Auroran oceans, the majority of the population and industry is centered on the continental landmasses.

Cities, Structures, and Demographics

New Imperial City and the Imperial Capitol

New Imperial City is the highlight of Aurora Prime and a testament to the return of the Imperial New Order to the Outer Rim Territories. Located on the North East Coast of New Laconica, the Capital is home to the headquarters of many of the Emperor's Hammer's public and private institutions. The civilian government (Directorate) maintains its own headquarters in the Imperial Capitol in central New Imperial City. The Grand Moff and their Ministry Council maintain private offices within the Capitol from which they oversee the day-to-day rule of the many citizens of the Emperor's Hammer territories.

New Imperial City stands on the site of the original Auroran capital, although little trace of the original settlement can now be seen. New Imperial City is based upon the architecture of Imperial Center on Coruscant. Several of the Emperor's lower level Imperial architects were rescued from Rebellion-controlled space to design the city's edifices. Thanks in no small part to the use of highly advanced construction droids and abundant natural resources the city has continued to grow and expand. From its humble roots any visitor could well be mistaken for thinking himself to be within the government district of Coruscant itself. The skyline is dominated by slender towers, gleaming skyscrapers of transparisteel and adamantium, these high-rise offices and accommodations in turn giving way to ordered suburbs and parks, all following the ordered and established patterns. Whilst an obvious symbol of Imperial rule and occupation there is a significant native population within the city, bringing with them their own cultural and stylistic contributions to the private architecture. In addition, millions of support personnel have moved into the city which has not only boosted the local economy, but also provided the funding for construction of several permanent Imperial Garrison facilities, new libraries, eateries, theaters, coliseums, plazas, corporate centers and COMPNOR education centers.

The Fleet Commander's Palace is also located on the continent of New Laconica, tucked into the jungles on the outskirts of New Imperial City. It is one of the most heavily guarded structures on the planet. The untamed, mountainous jungle environs of New Laconica not only provide the Fleet Commander with a beautiful setting for their much needed vacations from the burdens of fleet command, but also provide an excellent, natural seclusion for the Palace. The Jungles are exploding with various and wondrous varieties of native life but are not inhabited by any particularly aggressive flora or fauna. Originally built for Grand Admiral Ronin, subsequent Fleet Commanders now utilize the Palace during their rule. The exact details of the Palace are known only to select guests of the Fleet Commander and a painful death is said to await all foolish enough to trespass on the Palace's grounds.

Other key facilities and institutions within New Imperial City include:

• High Court of Inquisitors
• Imperial University
• The Fleet Commander's Palace
• Great Hall of Clan Alvaak
• Directorate Command Complex
• Office of the Planetary Governor of Aurora Prime

Other Regions

The other cities on Aurora Prime are beginning to follow in the mold set by the capital as the osmotic exchange of culture and personnel continues, far greater numbers of the population assimilating the Imperial ideal as the Hammer's citizens continue to expand across the planet. The aesthetically pleasing and environmentally neutral cities of Aurora are a refreshing change to a population more accustomed to the Coruscanti smogs of century-old pollution, or the cluttered and dismal slums of Nar Shadaa. Whilst the larger urban settlements have embraced the Imperial occupation, the outlying settlements will no doubt take a little longer to fully absorb Imperial culture.

The verdant jungles of Aurora give way to stony highlands and sweeping golden beaches, the plentiful environs guaranteeing a growing industry and plentiful mineral and organic resources. The more temperate lowlands of Kalona have proved extremely susceptible to large-scale farming initiatives, whilst the mining efforts in the Larasi mountains of New Laconica have continued to yield significant levels of mineral wealth. The profit the Auroran people have gained from these Imperial-led initiatives has no doubt aided and accelerated the assimilation process of the two cultures. Suffice to say Aurora Prime continues to grow and expand, managing to support many of its own demands without recourse to imports, whilst adding to its own wealth in quantities enough to acquire any materials it could not mine or harvest from its own surface.

With the reorganization of the training academies under a common structure, the Imperial University was established within New Imperial City. The Imperial University has become the preeminent organization for education of Emperor's Hammer personnel within both the military and civil segments.

The Directorate Governor's Academy (DGA) maintains its facilities on Aurora Prime. Located several blocks from the Imperial Capitol, the DGA Campus is one of the finest academic institutes for politicians in Imperial History. Courses ranging from governing basics to governor military control are offered in the state of the art facility for those worthy enough to gain admission.

The Shadow Academy of the Dark Brotherhood also maintains its own training facilities deep within the jungles of Aurora overseen by the Headmaster.

Planetary Politics

As the Imperial Capital, Aurora Prime is neither run by a Governor General as are the other planets of the Emperor's Hammer Territories, nor divided into four provinces. The Grand Moff of the Emperor's Hammer Territories also holds the title of (Grand) Duke of Aurora and it is the Grand Moff who is the official leader of Aurora Prime. Due to the heavy work load of the Grand Moff in maintaining the government of the Territories at large, the Deputy Grand Moff or another appointed individual (usually bearing the title Lord of New Laconica) often oversees the day-to-day operations of the planetary government.

The planetary government is sub-divided into numerous offices and departments, as with most conventional governmental structures. A mix of native Auroran and Imperial civil servants and aristocrats sit on the various governmental levels, from local ruling commissions up to the planetary senate, a body of several hundred responsible for planetary rule, but subject to the Grand Moff and his Deputy. The administrative center of the Emperor's Hammer, New Imperial City, acts therefore in a dual role of planetary and territorial capital, the focus of the bureaucratic services in a single expansive location ensuring an efficient and purposeful rule.

Economy

Though it has become a planet of great impressiveness and luxury since the arrival of Imperial troops, Aurora Prime is still a very agricultural planet. The improvements the Empire has made to the the farming techniques in Kalona, an area which remains mostly farmland, have made Aurora a planet capable of sustaining its own population, as well as those of nearby star systems, with its many cereal grains, exotic fruits, and other staples of the standard Imperial diet. The pharmaceutical products manufactured by the biochemists of the Kolonan continent are regarded as the finest produced within the Territories, and have made life-sustaining drugs one of Aurora Prime's chief exports.

The peoples of Aurora Prime were using orbital manufacturing facilities as their primary source of industry since the tribes had banded together to preserve the forests and plant life that were being destroyed by pollution. Rather than risk the plants that are so vital to the Empire's medicinal market, the orbital facilities continue to be used, and dozens of new corporations have placed facilities in orbit over the planet. Aurora's primary import has become industrial good and materials from these privately owned platforms which, with the support of the Imperial Military, have become the most prosperous privately owned organizations within the Hammer.

While Aurora has many of the natural resources needed for an intergalactic capital, at the beginning of the Imperial occupation, demand for luxury goods was far greater than supply. Because of this many of the luxury goods enjoyed by the upper class were imported from other worlds. The Native Aurorans have since proven themselves to be excellent crafts, and regularly import high quality woods from Ashtar, crystal formations from Kaiburr, and precious metals from Cinad, and craft them into magnificent works of art. Unfortunately, the Aurorans are not able to keep up with the demand across the galaxy, and many of their beautiful creations are enjoyed only on Aurora itself.