Kenichi’s Star is a red giant 2.3 AU across on the far eastern segment of Ayame’s Nebula, a world discovered by the SRSS Yggdrasill during a exploration/resource scouting effort.

After its discovery, the system was initially claimed as Yamatai Star Empire territory, but due to wars with the Mishhuvurthyar, the system was neglected and eventually the YSE revoked its claim, leaving it as an independent system within YSE space.

The star system consists of a red giant, two asteroid belts, and two orbiting planets. The star is named for Yuki Kenichi, the elder brother of the captain of the SRSS Yggdrasill, Yuki Toshiro. The start’s exact location in relation to Yamatai Star System is twenty-one degrees West of North, 15.2 LY out.

The inner asteroid field is largely molten, and extends for roughly 0.5 AU from the sun’s surface. It is estimated that these are the remains of planets partially consumed by the star, or ripped apart by solar flares during its turbulent change into a red giant. The asteroid belt is rich in minerals and metals. The asteroids, however, travel at high STL speed to maintain their position in orbit around the planet. This can make travel in the field dangerous unless proper shielding and velocity is attained.

Next is the planet Mizuho’s Tear, a world completely covered by clouds at 0.65 AU. The planet was once an icy world, but when the star grew, its surface melted, causing it to be one large sea. The humidity of the planet is remarkably high, violent thunderstorms covering the planet in its entirety. The core of the planet, however, is intact, and largely metal. This metal core is easily accessible to vessels able to descend to the bottom of the ocean. As for inhabitants, the only life on the planet are microbes that have appeared since the change. The planet is named for Yukisato Mizuho, a friend of Toshiro, whose name is oddly appropriate for this world.

In YE 36, the Star Army of Yamatai deployed a Bisen Lighthouse in orbit as an emergency stopping point for space travelers.

At 0.82 AU is the planet Kokoro, named for the rhythmic beating sound the planet occasionally emits. This sound is caused by the complex vascular system of the Kokoro Tree, or the World Tree. Its atmosphere has a remarkably high O2 content because of the massive plant.

This gives the world a “heartbeat” of sorts, hence its name.

The only notable life form on this world is the World Tree, a large tree reaching over three miles from the northern-most point on the planet. Its roots have spread across the world and sprouted runners and sub-trees. The oceans of the world are even hidden below this greenery. The tree is thought to be a parasite of sorts gone unchecked, and is non-sentient.

The outer asteroid field is solid rather than molten, and fairly large, extending from 0.9 AU to 3.6 AU. Numerous mineral-rich asteroids exist in this location, several of which are moon-sized or larger.

This article was created by Toshiro. It was approved by Wes on February 10, 2007:Approval Thread