Orion system

The Orion system is a former United Empire of Earth planetary system. Its only habitable planet, Armitage, was colonized in the 2660s. Vanduul forces entered the system in 2712, defeated the human fleet, and laid waste to the human colony. The system remains under Vanduul control.^[1]

History

Settlement

The Orion System was first charted by a stranded long-range UEE destroyer squadron in 2650.

The system was initially considered a low priority for colonization. It suffered from a lack of exploitable natural resources, it was missing strategic jump points, and the location was on the periphery of the UEE. As such, no major investments were initiated in the first ten years.

A renewed colonial movement in the 2660s lead to a greater interest in the system and the settlement of Orion III (now known as Armitage) as part of Project FarStar. Orion thus became the most distant human-controlled system.

Vanduul Incursion

On August 9, 2681, a Vanduul incursion struck a settlement on Armitage, murdering dozens of civilians and abducting a farmer. This was the moment of first contact between humanity and the Vanduul.

Vanduul attacks continued, drawn by the easy plunder found on this weakly-protected "feeding world." In six months outposts throughout the system had been raided fifteen times. Due to its isolated position and for logistic reasons, UEE Command was slow to commit defensive forces.

On 2712-02-16 a large Vanduul fleet invaded the system. The Battle of Orion raged for 3 days until the system was abandoned by the UEE. Armitage was bombarded with anti-matter bombs and laid into ruins.

Current Status

Over 200 years later, Armitage is still home to a small of group of human survivors that manage to eke out a pitiful existence. That they do this while somehow avoiding the ever-constant threat of annihilation by the Vanduul, and despite the planet's shattered ecosystem, is no less than a minor miracle. However, make no mistake: Armitage and the Orion system itself are fully under Vanduul control. Nomadic Vanduul raiding parties still plunder Armitage for food and resources, and the clans mine the Orion system's asteroids and other planetary bodies at will. For all these reasons, any travel to Orion is both extremely dangerous and highly discouraged.

Astrophysicists theorize that there at least two unexplored jump points in the system.

Gravitational governors

Orion

Orion is a M-type main sequence star.

Planets

Orion I

A protoplanet thoroughly charred by the system's sun.

Orion II

This smog planet has an atmosphere composed mainly of sulfuric acid.

Armitage : Orion III

The site of the first Vanduul attack against Humanity. Armitage had a growing population and pastures capable of agricultural development prior to the attacks. Now the planet is a wasteland of abandoned Human settlements and plains pockmarked by blast craters.

Abyss : Orion IV

A gas giant that has earned the nickname Abyss because it reflects very little light. Appearing like a giant planet of coal.

Orion VII

The existence of this planet is mentioned in Galactic Guide,^[1] though it is not present on the Ark Starmap.

Asteroid belts

Orion Belt Alpha

An asteroid belt that had been classified as "mineral rich" before the retreat.

Known jump points

Jump gate	Direction	Size	Destination
Orion - VS-9 "Vulture"	Bidirectional	Large	VS-9 "Vulture" - Orion, in Vulture system
Orion - Caliban	Bidirectional	Medium	Caliban - Orion, in Caliban system
Orion - Tiber	Bidirectional	Large	Tiber - Orion, in Tiber system
Orion - Viking	Bidirectional	Large	Viking - Orion, in Viking system