System: Eden

The last of the Pentagon worlds, Eden served as the exiles' capital from their arrival in 2786 to 2801. Much of the planetary precipitation falls in a narrow band around the equator, resulting in sharply contrasting patterns of vegetation. Within, twenty degrees of the equator there are lush jungles and verdant plains; rainfall drops off sharply outside of this area, resulting in large swathes of rocky desert. Local microclimates give rise to vegetation outside the equatorial band, but the plant life is often seasonal.

Though a range of surface-dwelling species evolved on Eden, few are of appreciable size. The largest surface-dweller is the Eden beaver, a semi-aquatic mammal that lives off insects and fish. The largest species on the planet is the burrock, a large subterranean invertebrate. Rarely seen, the burrock is prized for its adaptability and determination. The colonists also introduced many Terran species, of which the widowmaker spider (growing to three times the size of its Terran equivalent) and the jade falcon (a genetically modified peregrine) are the best known.

As with Babylon and Arcadia, much of the life native to Eden is hostile to humanity. The so-called "Curse of Eden", a form of brain fever, claimed the life of Aleksandr Kerensky's wife Katyusha and very nearly killed Nicholas. Those who survived often suffered considerable brain damage. The pathogen that causes the illness remains an active part of the planet's environment, and visitors to the world must be inoculated or risk infection.

The planetary population is concentrated in large urban enclaves, most of which date their founding to the Star League in exile. The Hell's Horses planetary capital of Hades (formerly known as Vesta) on the Purgatory Peninsula has the distinction of being the oldest enclave remaining in use. Many others were lost in the destruction of the Pentagon civil war. The Clans chose not to resettle Aleksandr Kerensky's capital, Novy Moscva, after Operation Klondike. Instead, the ruins serve as a memorial under the care of the Wolf Clan. Nature has been allowed to reclaim much of the city, but key sites like Aleksandr's command post are maintained by specially trained keepers. Access to the site is by invitation only, with the site's guardians - a pack of Strana Mechty wolves - trained to attack anyone not accompanied by a keeper.

There are no functional factories located on this planet.