I have been to many worlds, some of them beautiful, some dangerous, and some both. Capella is most definitely both. There are some very interesting and energetic rare gases in the world’s atmosphere, and floating mining cities harvest them at very high altitudes. The views from those heights are breathtaking. Sunrises are beyond description. And the local dragons are always happy to swoop in and snack on an inattentive vista watcher.
After years of warfare on the smaller islands, the Chinese finally hit the Japanese home islands. AIs swept the sky of Chinese aircraft and wrecked the communications networks, slowing the Chinese advance to a crawl. But nothing could stop them. Zelda and Kasumi are famous for fighting even after Chinese troops entered Tokyo itself to buy time. They only survived the fall of Japan because a technician carried their code out on the last of the evacuation ships.
The French occupation forces in Post-War Germany acquired many resources, significantly reducing the backlog of Reparations called for in the Treaty of Versailles. But the deaths of German civilians cost them far more in international relations. Germany became the downtrodden victim in many eyes, and France the jackbooted thugs. Seeing their support erode, France pulled back and left the Germans to their ruins, but they had already forged their inimicable future.
I have visited hundreds of worlds in my time. Maybe more. And I’ve seen plenty of sights, from the dangerous deserts of Alpha Ceti V to the floating mines of Capella. Alpha Ceti V’s star just doesn’t have the normal life supporting stuff, but it’s got a good location and many people use it to exchange cargo of…questionable legality. It’s also home to a rather nasty slug that thinks humans are grade A steaks or something. Let’s just say, we go well armed there.
The largest result of the Second Great Depression in the Eastern World was the rise of China into a true superpower. Japan and the largest concentration of developed AIs on the planet stood alone against that juggernaut for years. Zelda coordinated Japan’s point defense networks, shooting down every Chinese missile, while Kasumi infiltrated their networks and slagged every computer she could access. Other AIs joined in, and the Chinese did not enjoy the experience.