Espira-4

Affectionately called “blue sun, blue planet, blue moon,” Espira-4 is the moon of the gas giant Espira Prime of the NV-9408 system. What makes its biosphere unique is the presence of complex organisms under a blue giant star, a considerable rarity and interest point for the scientific community.

Its parent Espira Prime is a water cloud gas giant with a brilliant ring system. While just on the far edge of the habitable zone, tidal heating keeps the moon warm and a crucible for life.

Espira-4 consists of 60% water and fairly large ice caps. Vast fields of blue lichen and moss cover the surface. They have uniquely evolved a form of sexual reproduction as they release spores in the air which require a female flower-like structure to propagate. This has resulted in the biosphere being surprisingly diverse.

The moon is a double-edged sword so to speak. The spores are toxic to non-native life, but removal of the spores put the ecosystem in jeopardy as the lichens are also responsible for aerating the soil and play a critical role in the metabolism of other native species.

Colonization

The unique ecology's potential for research into new forms of medicine was highly attractive. During the Confederate Civil War, medical gels and nanovaccines became in short supply. Thus, charity events were held by the gaming tournament champion Verina Mayn to fund colonization efforts. The Zalakrasa Society was particularly outraged when Rusit Industries secured colonization rights to the moon. In retaliation, Zalakrasa destroyed a reactor on Rusit Industries' homeworld of Tallus.

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