Gemini Beta

Gemini Beta
Class:	Class-M
Type:	Planet
Satellites:	Taemar Thaelar Gemini Alpha
Native Species:	Geminite
Location:	Gemini System, Other side of Romulan Space, Beta Quadrant
Affiliation:	Geminite Sovereignty
A seaside city on Gemini Beta at dawn
[ Source ]

Economy

Gemini Beta, along with Gemini Alpha, is the capital world of the [[Geminite Sovereignty] and is the main "bread basket" of the Sovereignty. Gemini Beta's economy is based on animal and grain farming, due to the vast prairie lands of the Eastern Continent and southern part of the Northwestern continent.

The two southern continents depend more on mining for a rare mineral for their ships that is found only one other known place in the galaxy: the Anirian system. The mineral, called dalcium can absorb a certain amount of energy before it begins to break apart, unlike duranium or titanitum. This is not to say that it can hold together indefinitely, but rather that it can take more phaser or disruptor fire than other metals. Another mined in these areas is latinum, and is used freely for trade though it is not gold-pressed or in slips, strips, or bars. It was also recently found to be deadly to species with copper-based blood.

Another type of industry for the Northwestern continent is also farming, as the lower foothills and valleys of the mountains tend to be excellent ground for the berries and tree fruits that Geminites prefer. These fruits, along with the grains, are used in many Geminite dishes.

The extreme mountainous areas are mining areas for dilithium, natural gas, and gems. One type of gem, the Geminite tanzanite, can be used for brief periods instead of a dilithium crystal if dilithium is not available. However, depending on the size of the gem, it can overheat the engines in a matter of hours.

In the inner cities, universities, historians, artists, librarians, doctors and medical scientists, and other people of intellect make their living on Gemini Beta and nearly every other planet in the sovereignty.

Geographical Data

Unlike its sister world, Gemini Alpha, Gemini Beta is much colder and always has snow every winter, save in the equatorial region as the terrain is more mountainous except for the Eastern Continent. It also has only 4 continents to Gemini Alpha's 8 but one must take into account the size of the land masses as they are much larger in comparison to the size of the planet. Deserts are rarer here and are all in the equatorial region along with all the tropical climates and both are always closer to the oceans. Farther inland is more water as Gemini Beta has far more rivers, lakes, and inland seas than its neighbor and more waterfalls as the terrain is hillier. The Chaile Falls are one of the favorite subjects of Geminite artists.

Gemini Beta also has far more subtle colors in its flora so the people here tend to have as many colors in their cities as they can, along with as many shapes. It would not be uncommon to see a dome-shaped house with triangular windows and an oval door, all painted different colors. Forcefields are also colored here, rather than transparent, and can be any color imaginable.

There are a few places on the planet where nature has decided for the Geminites that there will be color. On the Eastern Continent, the Yellow Plains are indeed yellow as there is a mineral in the ground that gives it a yellowish hue and gets in the fur and feathers of the fauna there. It is indeed found on the plants as well, turning their trunks yellowish brown. In the autumn, their leaves turn a variety of red, orange, and yellow before falling to the ground and in the spring blue or purple fruit grows from those same trees while the grain that is raised is red in color.

Gemini Beta Plants

Caila berries

Caila Berry

A type of berry that is red in color but similar in shape to an uttaberry or blueberry and is favored among children as a dried fruit instead of candy.

Genai Grain
Genai Grain is a much used grain for breads and porridge despite its rough texture when milled due to the high nutrient content.

A purple Geminite rose

Gemini Flowers

Brought over from Gemini Alpha, these flowers have been cultivated to be every color possible from red to yellow to blue to black. They come in many varieties such as irises, orchids, lilies, roses, daisies, and others but it is the roses that are most prized by the Geminite women.

Gemini Beta Trees
Gemini trees have wood that is striped such as the Earth zebra wood tree but the trees on Gemini Beta that are the most valued are the ones that bear fruit as the planet is somewhat of the bread basket of the system.

Points of Interest

Yellow Plains
Yellow Plains is one of the many farming communities on the planet, however it received its name from the color of the dirt. A mineral that is yellow in color dusts everything here, from the grass to the trunks of the trees to the animals in the area. When winter is coming, the leaves of the trees turn various shades of red, orange and yellow before falling to the ground, which matches the grain grown in this area. The one thing that does not match is the fruit of the trees, as it tends to be blue or purple in color.

Maikala
Maikala is a subcontinent that is one of the only tropical areas on the planet and is also one of the most colorful. The skies of the planet being green, the people are drawn here as the beaches are golden yellow and the oceans are purple. The trees produce some fruit but must have an unusually warm summer to do so.

Vozailar Military Academy
The academy at Vozailar is the main Geminite military academy in the sector, though further out there are 2 more on other planets. Here young Geminites learn honor, discipline and sacrifice in service to the Sovereignty. Many are not able to complete the training though that is the purpose of the harshness of the Academy: to weed out those who will fail in the field.

History

See Main Article: Geminite History

A beach on the subcontinent Maikala

Though the Geminites achieved warp flight around 2,500 years ago, they do not have a large empire because of one simple truth: they were not curious enough to explore. However, once the Geminites did finally achieve warp flight, it was only a matter of time before they moved from Gemini Alpha to Gemini Beta. This they did within a matter of decades and soon began spreading across the planet. The Geminites here thought of themselves as pioneers or frontiersmen, and set about taming this wild new world. They brought with them several types of animals and many types of plants, though they soon learned that it might be better to cultivate the plants that were already here as they were adapted to a harsher ecosystem than the ones they had brought with them. Among the plants already here were several types of grain, fruit-bearing trees, and berries. One type of berry was thought of as a delicacy for its sweetness and texture and soon began to be sold as dried fruit to children instead of candy.

Though Gemini Beta and Gemini Alpha were content for quite a long period there came a time when they needed to move outward for the simple purpose of finding more farmland. This land was found on the moon Taemar which the two planets share and thus they continues this way until the 1500s when a ship was coming towards their part of space. They were less concerned and somewhat relieved when the ship stopped short of their space and landed on a planet farther out. However, the Gemnites were once again conscious of a dwindling food supply in comparison to a growing population. Thus, they went to colonize other planets in the starsystem and soon had terraformed two planets by the end of the 16th century and were starting to develop the asteroid fields in their system. The asteroids were filled with minerals needed for ships and they began to build ships of quality as quickly as possible as they became aware of other races in the area. However, they had not developed weapons. The voices in the senate which were the loudest for weapons came from Gemini Beta and were also the loudest for exploration but never for expansion, which could possibly entail conquering other races.

Their weapons were tested thoroughly, but weapons were never the strong suit of any Geminite unless it was the Ancient Dark Days. In the 2200s the government finally deemed the weapons good enough to allow the ships to explore space. Now, in 2389, they are spread across 82 planets and 7 moons which are all treated equitably. The only thing that disrupts their peace is a neighbor with bronze skin and pointed ears.