Planet:Capricaerón

"A planet of unparalleled beauty, a melting pot of understanding and wisdom. It's sobriquet, the "cultural capital of Cyrannus" is well earned. Indeed, if Orbispira is the heart of the galaxy, Capricaerón is the soul."

- Encyclopædia Cyrannica, "Planets of the Core Worlds"

Capricaerón is a temperate planet in the Core Worlds of the. The planet is perhaps best known as the world upon which the evolved, a species which later went on to define the Cyrannus Galaxy as its dominant species. Capricaerón is a lush, bountiful and pristine planet marked as the undisputed capital of the Twelve Worlds as well as the cultural heartland of the entire Cyrannus Galaxy. Though most of the planet consists of beautiful, untouched grasslands, forests and glistening seas, the planet is perhaps best known for the cosmopolitan cities which dot the surface, including the planetary capital Capricaerón City, a centre of science, the arts, culture and learning.

The history of the planet is complex. During the early years of space-faring Libertus, the planet was a sovereign state under a democratic government which often warred with rival planets amongst the Twelve Worlds, most notably Tauronsa. However, upon the unification of the worlds in 1536 BNE, the planet became the capital of the, a member state of the , which was ultimately reformed into the in 53 BNE, with Capricaerón being considered one of the most important worlds of the new democratic superpower. After the, the planet was generally un-supportive of the , with the planet's senator being a thorn in the side of Imperial forces. As such, the majority of the planet's population is supportive of the, casting the future of the planet's stability under Imperial rule into serious doubt.

Capricaerón is the homeworld of many of the most important figures in galactic history, such as Proconsul, and.

Early History
A lush and bountiful planet, Capricaerón and the system it inhabits was formed over 3.9 billion years ago, beginning the long and slow development toward a life-sustaining world. Over seventy million years ago, a mass extinction brought about the impact of a large comet prevented the diversification of mammalian lifeforms, allowing saurian lifeforms to become the dominant group of animals on the planet. From these humble origins arose many different species of saurian, ranging from massive sauropods and deadly therapods. From the latter, the earliest ancestors of the evolved, with modern examples of the species first appearing just under a million years before the rise of the. The early Libertus themselves evolved as the apex predators of their continent using their swift and agile nature as well as their high degree of intelligence to hunt and kill prey. Equipped with razor-sharp teeth, a killing claw on each foot and a top speed of up to seventy kilometres per hour at full sprint, these early Libertus were almost perfectly evolved for hunting and killing. Modern paleontologists believe that early Libertus lived and operated in packs, which eventually became more and more advanced as the Libertus continued to evolve.

Upon reaching the stage during which tribal structures began appearing, life-preserving artificial intelligences catalogued the species and placed tribes on many different worlds throughout Cyrannus, including the planets which would ultimately be known as the Twelve Worlds, though also including other planets in the Core Worlds which would ultimately advance to form stellar governments such as the  while Capricaerón remained to develop at a more natural pace. Over time, packs became tribes and tribes became cities. When the Age of Technology arrived, the Libertus had relatively few conflicts between rival civilisations. However, a terrorist group managed to construct a nuclear device and used it against the city Delphi in opposition to the growing levels of political unification between the planet's superpowers. However, this act of savagery ultimately resulted in an escalation of political unification which occurred at a much quicker pace than in other civilised species despite the high levels of cultural differences that existed between different Libertus factions. Over the next century, these early Capricaerónians began to expand into space where they encountered the independent Libertus states of Twelve Worlds.

As a spacefaring power, Capricaerón interacted with the other Twelve Worlds in both peace and war, ultimately usurping the place of Virgon as the most important planet in the system, leading the way to the unification of the worlds under the Republic of the Twelve Worlds and later, the. Interstellar travel ultimately led to the planet becoming a member world in the, ultimately rising to become the Federation's second most important world, after the galactic capital.

Republic Era
"Fellow people of Cyrannus, the Confederacy has launched a devastating attack on my homeworld of Capricaerón in the hope of shattering our resolve. But I will tell you this, Capricaerón will not fall and neither will the ideals of our Republic. We will repeal the invaders and bring the planet back into our fold."

- during the Battle of Capricaerón.

Capricaerón was attacked many times in its long history, mostly during the Intercolonial Wars, however it was also attacked by small nuclear weapons during the opening stages of the. Luckily, these weapons left little radiation, and the planet quickly recovered. The planet also came under attack by the, in one of the longest and bloodiest battles in the , second only to the Battle of the Rambo Capital. General Zillum, a Imperial attacked the colony with a huge fleet, of both Mortalitas and Imperial ships, however the timely aid of Captain Rambam and many CSA captains won the battle. The Cognatus also invaded Capricaerón, however, little damage was done to the planet, with the exception of the city of Oldale, which was completely destroyed, but rebuilt as Delphi.

During the fourth month of the, the Confederacy launched a daring attack on Capricaerón. The battle was long and arduous, and many casualties occurred on both sides. However the ingenuity of Fleet Admiral Cretacea won the day. During the battle, he protected the president, Senator Inviá and Magalen and Senator Lord Ram'Lendilia of Rambo Nation from the assualts of the famed General Zillum. Luckily, he protected the important individuals and destroyed Zillum's ship in the process. The scourge of the was finally slain and Capricaerón quickly returned to normal.

Imperial Era
When the was formed, the people of Capricaerón were shocked that one of their own,  would be willing to betray the ideals of freedom. When Mandator Atorikó arrived on Capricaerón, he was welcomed by his people, despite the fact that the Imperial Senator, was a notable Republic sympathiser. Unbeknownst to the general public, the, Ekrillium located an ancient wormhole device that would grant the Empire a secret "back-door" into the on Capricaerón. Showing his master the portal, the Dark Lord gave the order to  to enter the portal, and to bring the Quadrants to their knees. Eventually, Zillum's fleet was successful in conquering and bringing it under Imperial control. Meanwhile, people on Capricaerón went about their daily lifes, without a notion of the role their world played. When the third year of Imperial rule began, the was captured and absorbed into the Empire, while Apollo and his family were allowed to go free. Apollo's family were soon delivered back to Capricaerón, where was assassinated by a bounty hunter. Afterwards, Apollo and his children left to live in, during which time he had a hand in the formation of the.

With a strong tradition of democracy on Capricaerón, most of the planet supported this new government over the Empire leading to tensions in the Twelve Worlds.

Fauna

 * Carnivores


 * Herbivores

Quotes
"My glorious homeworld. Unfortunately it now finds itself near the heart of the Imperial threat."

"Hmpf. So much Libertus scum in this planet..."

"One of my original siblings died trying to corrupt this world. I will not forget that easily..."

"I only heard stories about this planet, but it doesn't seem to different from our own capital. Maybe a world I would settle on if there wouldn't be the CyraEmp."

- President Draicon

Trivia

 * Capricaerón was originally known as Capricorn, which was changed to Caprica, the name of the primary planet in Battlestar Galactica. In order to add a bit more originality, it was changed to Capricus and later Capricaerón.
 * Still, it remains inspired by Caprica, though it is also based in part on Alderaan and Earth during the Late Cretaceous Period.