Arcturus
From FABT
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11.5 billion |
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Arcturus is a star system located in the Arcturus Stream cluster, and formerly the chosen seat of the Systems Alliance. In the asari cycle, the Arcturus system, and by extent the Arcturus Stream in its entirety, lay beyond Inner Council space, and thus was never targetted for exploration or colonization by the Citadel Council. This left the system as prime real estate for new human explorers in the 2150s CE who came looking for a new home amongst the stars. The Systems Alliance very quickly colonized the Euler system, but the Arcturus system possessed no habitable planets for them to settle, with only gas giants and small planetoids. This led to Arcturus being relegated to a support role, and eventually an important location of resource worth to the Alliance, with Eirene having bountiful amounts of Helium-3. It was decided early on that Arcturus would also be the location for the construction of Arcturus Station, making it a perfect terminus between their capital and the other Alliance territories as they began to expand more rapidly. By 2161 CE, this dream became reality, giving the new human capital unprecedented access to the other systems, and also granting it a distinct strategic advantage in times of war or invasion.
The Arcturus system was target number one for Reaper forces when they invaded human territory on June 2, 2186 CE following their brutal and swift subjugation of the Batarian Hegemony. The bulk of the Reaper fleet swept through Arcturus, destroying the capital and inflicting heavy losses on the defending Alliance fleets, forcing them into retreat and leaving Earth completely vulnerable to attack. The Reapers did not occupy Arcturus, instead opting to destroy all military and civilian assets of value within the system, severely damaging the Alliance war effort, and subsequently their post-war economy. While Arcturus' resource extraction facilities would be restored post-war, the capital would be moved to the more easily defensible Elysium in the Petra Nebula, once again demoting Arcturus to a support role, one which it would continue to have well into the Systems Coalition's existence.
The system is named for the Ancient Greek word Arktouros, which means "guardian of the bear".