System Specs:
- Stellar Mass: N/A Sol Masses
- Stellar Class: N/A
- Luminosity: N/A Sol
- Planets: 5
- Moons: 0
- Asteroid Belts: 1
- Asteroids: 0
- Objects: 2
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Planets Directory:
- Tyre
- Elysium
- Grissom Academy
- Sidon
- Joppa
- asteroid belt
- Gilead
- Mass Relay
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Tyre:
- Orbital Distance: 0.65 AU
- Orbital Period: 0.5 Earth-years
- Keplerian Ratio: 1.099
- Radius: 5,864 km
- Day Length: 23.2 Earth-hours
- Atmospheric Pressure: 21.61 atm
- Surface Temp: 414 °C
- Surface Gravity: 0.473 g
- Mass: 0.397 Earth-masses
Tyre is wrapped in a crushing atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon monoxide that make for a blistering oven of a planet. Clouds of ash from volcanic eruptions trigger frequent lightning storms on the surface, and the majority of its mineral deposits are metal-poor, not worth the expense of mining.
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Elysium:
- Orbital Distance: 1.3 AU
- Orbital Period: 1.5 Earth-years
- Keplerian Ratio: 0.976
- Radius: 5,723 km
- Day Length: 27.9 Earth-hours
- Atmospheric Pressure: 1.3 atm
- Surface Temp: 8 °C
- Surface Gravity: 0.695 g
- Mass: 0.555 Earth-masses
- Colony: human
Capital: Illyria, founded 2160 CE, population 8,300,000 (plus 223,500 in orbital stations)
When searching for a colony to retire to, Alliance hero Jon Grissom said he wanted “the one where the sun has the decency to set at a reasonable time.” Elysium fulfilled this criteria and many more, featuring low gravity, tolerable atmospheric pressure, and a suitable climate. Humans and aliens alike flocked to the “alpine paradise” early in its colonial years, and the planet remains a vibrant hub for both visitors and permanent residents.
Security is a constant concern for Elysium; the planet has suffered several pirate or mercenary attacks, including the Skyllian Blitz of 2176. Elysium’s airspace is secured by mobile planetary defense cannons–its armed starship complement is relatively light. Materiel and volunteers from Elysium formed part of the Alliance Second Fleet, which was stationed near Arcturus before the fleet was destroyed by the Reapers.
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Grissom Academy:
- Population: 8,620
- Station Length: 1.1 km
- Gross Weight: 375,000 metric tons
Description
The stated mission of the Jon Grissom Academy, commissioned in 2176, is to “serve a student population demonstrating excellence and passion for math, science, and the liberal arts.” Its entirely human student body ranges in age from the early teens to the mid-twenties. Although the fact is not heavily advertised, the institution also offers classes for students with biotic capability. The school’s Ascension Project seeks to train these students and integrate them into normal society.
Codex Entry
The Jon Grissom Academy, founded in 2176, is the Alliance’s premier school for young human biotics. The institution is housed in a space station in orbit over the human colony of Elysium. Its main program, the Ascension Project, is designed both to train and monitor young biotics as well as help them integrate into society after graduation. Unlike the project’s previous incarnation, Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, or BAaT, the training is not exclusively military in nature.
The academy also employs scientific personnel, including Dr. Kahlee Sanders, to develop synthetic intelligence systems and biotic amplifiers like the new L4 implants.
History
Mass Effect: Ascension
In 2183, the Academy’s most prominent program is the Ascension Project, which helps biotic children reach their full potential.
Mass Effect 2
Shepard can send David Archer to Grissom Academy after his brother, Dr. Gavin Archer, used him in an experiment to attempt to control the geth.
Mass Effect: Retribution
After the death of Alliance hero Jon Grissom, the station’s namesake, a memorial plaque in his honor is erected in the Academy’s mess hall.
Six months later, the Reaper-controlled Paul Grayson boards the station in an attempt to learn more about the ongoing Ascension Project. He disables or kills most of the station’s personnel before David Anderson, Kahlee Sanders, and Kai Leng arrive and kill him.
Mass Effect 3
In 2186 during the Reaper invasion, though war would close most schools, fewer than twenty teachers and students stayed at Grissom Academy to train biotics and prototype technology for the Alliance. Unfortunately, the Academy is attacked by Cerberus forces seeking to capture the students. The attack goes unnoticed because Cerberus uses a turian military signal to broadcast that the station is being evacuated by turian ships. Specialist Traynor and EDI connect the signal to a similar one known to have been used by the Illusive Man to lure Commander Shepard to a Collector Cruiser.
If the Commander decides to travel there, upon arrival Jeff “Joker” Moreau uses the Normandy SR-2 to distract the Cerberus cruiser and fighters guarding the station while Shepard and the team board it. Shepard encounters Kahlee Sanders, who has barricaded herself in a security room, and goes on to rescue the station’s remaining students. After the students are evacuated, Grissom Academy is abandoned. The Academy and nearby Elysium later fall to the Reapers.
If Shepard decides against going to the academy, the Cerberus kidnapping operation succeeds and the victims are subverted into working for the organization, like Jack if she survived the suicide mission.
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Sidon:
- Orbital Distance: 2.3 AU
- Orbital Period: 3.5 Earth-years
- Keplerian Ratio: 0.993
- Radius: 7,645 km
- Day Length: 31.6 Earth-hours
- Atmospheric Pressure: Trace atm
- Surface Temp: −62 °C
- Surface Gravity: 0.947 g
- Mass: 1.351 Earth-masses
A large terrestrial planet with wide, cold deserts, Sidon has a trace atmosphere that is principally carbon monoxide. Alliance planners found its gravity agreeable, however, and built a small domed research facility on the planet in the 2160s. The project was classified until recently, when Blue Suns mercenaries who allegedly attacked the facility were apprehended and brought to trial, revealing the facility’s existence in open court.
Eager to counter the negative publicity, Elysium investment firms now advertise that Sidon is free of military facilities and just “minutes away” from the garden world, thanks to recent improvements in faster-than-light travel. Whether or not the marketing attracts development remains to be seen.
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Joppa:
- Orbital Distance: 4.4 AU
- Orbital Period: 9.2 Earth-years
- Keplerian Ratio: 1.006
- Radius: 58,415 km
- Day Length: 8.7 Earth-hours
- Atmospheric Pressure: _ 0.44 atm
- Surface Temp: _ 1,157 °C
- Surface Gravity: _ 0.66 g
- Mass: _ 0.78 Earth-masses
A modestly sized hydrogen-helium Jovian planet, Joppa is close enough and reflective enough to be seen in Elysium’s night sky. It orbits in retrograde, possibly indicating that it was an extrasolar capture. Human and alien consortiums compete fiercely for the rights to gather helium-3 from the planet, since Elysium’s favorable position along trade routes means high profits.
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Gilead:
- Orbital Distance: 8.7 AU
- Orbital Period: 25.7 Earth-years
- Keplerian Ratio: 0.997
- Radius: 2,102 km
- Day Length: 24.7 Earth-hours
- Atmospheric Pressure: Trace atm
- Surface Temp: −164 °C
- Surface Gravity: 0.315 g
- Mass: 0.034 Earth-masses
- Colony: human
Capital: Ephesus, founded 2180 CE, population 25
The largest object in the Klein Belt, Gilead is a stony dwarf planet of rock and ice, mined for its nickel. It is notable for a recent collision with another asteroid. The residents had several weeks of advance warning and set up recording devices before they evacuated the planet. After selling footage of the asteroid strike to extranet news corporations, the residents found they were now somewhat famous–as well as a little wealthier than before. Of the 221 residents, all but 25 proceeded to leave the nickel business.
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