Planet Name and Description: Ellara

At first sight from space, this planet might remind you of Earth. It has vast oceans surrounding several continents and countless islands, thick jungles as well as temperate forests, wide rivers as well as small streams, dry deserts as well as fertile lowlands. But do not be mistaken. This planet is hell. EVERYTHING here will try to kill you. Vast oceans are filled with creatures that would make megalodons cover and run in fear. The mainland is home to various predators - resembling Earth's felines, canines, reptiles, avians. You name it, Ellara has it. Of course, not all animals are first-hand dangerous. Some will just make their way into your storage facilities and eat or destroy all your food. Others will be attracted to the scent of fuel so badly, they will commit mass suicides drowning in your fuel tanks, rendering the content unusable. Some will just try to eat a tiny piece of you or suck your blood. Yes, alien mosquitos. Do I need to say more? How about a corroding fungus? Pollen that dissolves your mucous membrane and makes you sneeze blood until you die? Aggressive natives? I think you got the idea. No surprise that the ship's captain decided to call the planet after his ex-wife.

Three moons orbit Ellara. The smaller two are just lifeless useless rocks that might look pretty in the night sky but add no real value to the colony. The third (nicknamed Donut for its unusual shape) however carries large ore deposits easily accessible from its surface.

History:
When the SS Proxima exited the gateway near a beautiful, habitable planet, the colonists couldn't believe their luck. The ship landed a few hundred miles off the equator, on a flat area near an enormous lake. All the colonization procedures were started and 370 000 excited people swarmed out of the ship. Land, aerial, and water survey teams were dispatched to scout the immediate area. Other groups unloaded cargo, builders started to assemble prefabricated shelters brought from Earth; founding the city of New Haven. The basic infrastructure was ready in just a couple of hours and everything was looking great for the new colony.

The first sign of trouble was losing contact with the survey teams. One by one they failed to report. Only two teams ever returned, although you can hardly call it a return in either case. One heavily damaged hovercraft crashed on the outskirts of the new city, none of the crew survived. And a couple of hours later one man tottered out of the treeline. The scout was delirious, his body horribly swollen, fever clouding his mind. He kept mumbling something about trees and screeches and died just a few hours later. The next morning, 18 people reported feeling sore and swollen joints and having a fever. By evening it was 600. The 'Elbow fever' swept through the population during the following weeks, with an alarming death toll of over 70 000 people. And while the devastated population was trying to recover, a new threat came.

Even though the initial scans of the planet didn't show any signs of technology, it didn't mean it was uninhabited. The locals were primitive humanoids, comparable to humans of the Late Stone age. They were taller and considerably stronger than an average human, their long limbs allowed them to be incredibly agile. If their race had a name, they didn't bother to share it. They showed no interest in communicating with their new neighbors and immediately began to attack them. The natives were well adjusted to the local environment and could move through the terrain almost unnoticed, making it nearly impossible for the colonists to follow when they retreated. Even though armed only with primitive weapons, mostly spears and clubs, their brutal attacks claimed many lives. Given the huge technological advantage that New Haven residents had, the locals died by hundreds, even thousands. And yet there always seemed to be more coming.

As no war was expected when founding a new colony, only about 5% of the original SS Proxima crew were professional soldiers. Another 10% had some degree of military training but had never been in real combat before. There were enough scientists, teachers, people of countless imaginable arts and crafts, builders, farmers, even philosophers, economists, politicians were in abundance. But there weren't enough people capable (and willing) to fight. Even at that time, voices were demanding to stop the violence against the 'helpless primitives' and to start a dialogue with them. This pacifist wing was small but very loud, always questioning every decision that the newly founded parliament made, stalling it by endless debates about the value of all lives.

The democratic system was showing its greatest flaws and people kept dying. The captain of the SS Proxima Grant Park and the military commander general Erling Thorsen couldn't sit by and watch it any longer. They gathered what remained of the military units and took control of New Haven. The parliament was dissolved, martial law declared and all power was transferred to Park, Thorsen and a group of high-ranked officers called the Guardians. Every able man or woman was drafted and trained in combat. Unnecessary buildings were dismantled and used to build fortifications around the city center. New Haven slowly started to transform into what later became known as the Citadel. Those who opposed the new system were quickly dealt with - a few public executions for the biggest trouble makers and years of forced labor for the rest.

As the colony expanded, slowly pushing the locals away from their territories, there was an increased need for a workforce. Even though every person who for whatever reason failed to join the military was given some 'lower' manual labor job, it still wasn't enough to fill all the positions in newly opened mines, farms, or factories. Thorsen and the Guardians decided to start capturing the enemies whenever possible and putting them to work. Captain Park was against it, objecting against the brutal force that had to be used on natives to make them compliant. He was quickly pushed out of the leading position and when he tried to raise his voice in public, his heart suddenly gave out. During the hero's funeral general Thorsen held a long speech, in which he declared the newly founded country to be a military state. The nation of the Undefeated had only one goal - to take control of the entire planet eliminating all threats it would come across. The speech was met with thunderous applause.

Now, almost 300 years later The Undefeated control most of the central continent save from a few harder accessible areas in which smaller groups of natives may still be hiding. There are small strongholds along the coast of the northern continent and heavily armed divisions frequently venture inland to 'clear out' any threats and make room for more expansion.

Culture and Society:
Society is heavily focused on warfare, military aspects influence every part of people's lives. All children attend military academies and their skills are continuously tested, focusing mostly on strength, stamina, agility, and combat theory. Those who fail to pass these tests are expelled and become members of the lower 'caste' of people - the Rejected. The Rejected are still considered citizens but are only allowed to get simple and manual labor jobs and are generally despised by the rest of the population. There is one exception - Rejected that are exceptionally intelligent can obtain assistant positions in scientific facilities.

Aside from military success, science is the only other area in which a person might gain some social status. After the war with the natives started, the science was heavily focused on warfare, but as the situation became more stable, it allowed the scientists to also focus on improving medicine, farming technology, and other areas that were deemed useful for the new nation.

The culture on Ellara is unsurprisingly focused on all kinds of sports. The Olympics are held each year and several smaller races or tournaments in whatever you can think of are split evenly in between. It is common to see people workout in parks, there are multiple shooting ranges in each neighborhood. Art is not forbidden, but it is considered to be entertainment for the losers and unworthy - anyone who wants to climb through the ranks cannot be seen watching a theatrical play or painting a picture.



Governance and Politics:
The whole nation is controlled by the military. The highest position is the Grand General, supported by a group of 12 high-ranking officers called the Guardians. They have absolute power over everything that goes on in the whole country. These positions are usually held till death (or until physical condition no longer allows them to perform the duties).
On lower levels, the power is distributed according to military ranks.

Technology Overview:
For a long time, the technology level (aside from military technology) remained the same as it was on Earth. Some progress has been made since the Undefeated started to win the war and push the enemy away from the Citadel. The discovery of modular fusion reactors allowed new towns and strongholds to quickly become self-reliant. Currently, the researchers focus on making it small enough so it could be used to power smaller aircraft or troop carriers.

The field of medicine was crucial throughout history, from the very beginning when the Elbow fever was decimating the population and then during the endless conflicts with the natives. Progress was made in traumatology, tissue regeneration, transplants, prosthetics, antibiotics, and many other areas.

The main focus has always been on the main planet and so research of space flight and associated technologies is currently on the same level as it was when the colony ship left Earth. The Undefeated have several smaller spacecrafts that have been used to explore the planet's satellites and preparations are underway to start a mining colony on the biggest moon.

Military Overview:
The Undefeated military system is very complex and the whole society revolves around it. All adult citizens (except for the Rejected) are considered troops and have a military rank. The troops are assigned into divisions that rotate in being deployed into hot zones. Each division is split into several squadrons which then divide into platoons and squads. Some squadrons are specialized in different types of combat, some are medical or engineering units.

Most troops fight as heavily armed infantry. Equipped with a protective exoskeleton, they are shielded not just from enemy spears and arrows, but also from some of the aggressive wildlife. It also helps them to match the strength of the natives, should hand-to-hand combat occur. They can be armed with automatic laser weapons, projectile sidearms, different types of grenades, rocket launchers, flame throwers, or whatever else is necessary for a given environment. The troops are transported in armored hovercrafts, aircrafts, or amphibious transporters.

Long-range artillery and strategic bombers are often used to destroy enemies from a safe distance, using either conventional explosive missiles, or chemical and biological weapons. Even though the enemy doesn't possess flight technologies, the airspace is far from safe. Large reptiles similar to pterodactyls roam the skies of the equatorial area in great numbers and will attack anything that disrupts their territory. Northern regions are inhabited by smaller birds of prey, not a huge threat to the aircraft, but strong wind and violent storms are a constant danger here.