View source for Comm-Link:Galactic Guide - Nexus System

UDS-2445-3-09, Hathor, the “Crossroads of Crime”; the [[Nexus System]] has been called many things during its long history. Nexus is just the latest and most obvious moniker of the bunch. Located at a strategically important junction of jump points, Nexus was a colloquial name for the system first used in the 28th century in reference to its role connecting lawless systems.

When the [[UEE]] reclaimed the system in 2931, government officials began an initiative to use the system’s older name, [[Hathor]], as an attempt to erase its associations with pirates. However, the name was too embedded in the Empire’s lexicon to be changed, and the effort was almost universally mocked. Eventually the UEE conceded and officially adopted the system’s name as Nexus.

In fact, its name has always been a strong indication of the current condition of the system. Many believe the history of Nexus can be best understood through the various names it bore over the ages.

== UDS-2445-3-09 ==

Nexus was discovered on March 9, 2445, by [[Dominic Thapa]], a [[UNE]] Navy pilot probing the then military classified [[Cathcart System]] for new jump points. It was the military that assigned the system its first name — UDS-2445-3-09. Pathfinders entered the system shortly thereafter to find a bluish-white A-type main-sequence star, five planets and a mineral-rich asteroid belt.

The UNE’s first assessment of the system saw potential, but also a problem. The problem was that Nexus could only be accessed through Cathcart, which was a restricted military system at the time. Rather than risk opening Cathcart to civilian traffic, the military initially tried to make use of the system themselves — terraforming Nexus IV and even experimenting with smog-planet terraforming on [[Nexus II]]. Unfortunately, around this time the government started facing a significant budget shortfall, and the expensive development of Nexus was quickly placed on the chopping block. The military still did not want to allow access to Cathcart, so a compromise was settled upon. By allowing limited access to a single corporation, strict control could still be maintained, so the UNE sold Nexus’ mining rights to the [[Hathor Group]] for a considerable sum, which was immediately used to help fill the budget gap. Some historians believe the decision helped the ruling [[Universalist]] party maintain their majority in the close elections of 2468.

== The Hathor Group ==

The Hathor Group purchased all mining rights to the Nexus System in January of 2468. It was an unprecedented deal that centuries later would be the inspiration for the UEE to do something similar in the Stanton System. The subsequent lack of government and public oversight allowed the Hathor Group to run the system as they saw fit. The company’s control was so ubiquitous that astronomical charts from the 26th century referred to it as the Hathor System.

While Hathor was in charge, few laws were enforced. The military presence in neighboring Cathcart had dwindled as that system was converted into a dumping ground, and as long as minerals were mined, and profits made, the Hathor Group didn’t care what their employees and contractors did outside of work. Nexus became known for gambling, rampant violence and innumerable illicit activities. Crime became the system’s only viable economic engine outside of mining.

Illegal activity only intensified with the subsequent discovery of three additional jump points and increased traffic from neighboring unclaimed systems. Gangs began to stalk the flight paths between the jump points and planets, preying on any ship they found. That, combined with the Hathor Group’s stranglehold on the system, dissuaded most people from visiting and most businesses from setting up operations.

Meanwhile, the Hathor Group continued to rip resources out of [[Nexus III]], [[Nexus IV]] and the [[Elcibre Belt]] until the profit margin began to dip below their ballooning security budget. The Hathor Group officially abandoned the system in 2672, leaving behind an inhospitable wasteland, scarred by centuries of mining and lacking basic civilian infrastructure. It should come as no surprise what happened next.