Canto is a K-type main-sequence star three parsecs rim-spinward of Whistler. All astronomical evidence suggests that at one point, Canto was a binary system. For many years, Whistler astronomers suspected that Canto’s twin was ejected, but more modern theories suggest the star collapsed and erupted the staggering amount of material that now encircles the entire system.
Canto was colonized in wy432 by the Terradyne Cooperative, a firm focused on sustainable survival in the Reach through innovations in agriculture and, aspirationally, terraforming. It is commonly believed that the Terradyne directors were emboldened by the acknowledgement by the Council of the Republic of Jericho’s independence, and felt that in time, they too would be able to form an independent government.
In the subsequent decades, the colonists developed staggering innovations that made survival in the relatively unfriendly environment of Canto’s only planet seem easy, including many agri-systems that boosted food production for the entire Reach and a novel oxygen reclamation system that has since been adopted by the WDF.
Canto’s insular culture and aspirations of independence suffered greatly after the invention of the M² drive emboldened the Council to reassert control over all of the human colonies. They joined Grove and Foxglove in their bid for independence in wy549. In early wy554, the Canto Board of Directors announced that Terradyne would be manufacturing and implementing the necessary advanced systems to make the mining outposts in Foxglove completely self-sufficient within ten years. The response from Zijin Mining Group specifically and the Council at large was swift.
On August 11th, wy554, dive-capable elements of the WDF 3rd Fleet surfaced in Canto and began the systemic orbital bombardment of the system’s civic and government centers. Many estimates put the death toll in the hundreds of thousands. The assault, while not directly targeting manufacturing or industry, ejected enough material into the atmosphere that the fragile ecosystem of Canto was irreversibly disrupted and eventually collapsed.
Canto is now considered uninhabited. Numerous scavengers descended on the planet while the WDF was distracted in the war and picked the planet clean. Gangs and outlaws have made their home in the extensive belt around the system, but Canto remains extremely hostile to permanent settlement.
Canto
Named after the star, Canto is the only planet in the system. Before the bombardment it was home to a fragile, but effective ecosystem of novel flora in a biome that humans could adapt to given time. The bombardment has left the planet a wasteland, the skeletal remains of its former ecosystem and colony withered under devastating storms and a toxic atmosphere.
Twin
The extensive belt of stellar debris surrounding the primary is known simply as “Twin”. There are numerous planetoids in this extremely dense region providing homes to the fringes of society. Twin is composed primarily of unremarkable ores and a staggering volume of Arnite, and thus hasn’t been worth exploitation by industry.