Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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Approved Planet Denon

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Pentaplex - District 1

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Moonfall District - District 3

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Seven Corners - District 7

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Better Futures Society - District 12

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Upcity - District 19

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Overlooking the Sunlight Lofts

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An egregious example of the Twilight Belt

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A street in the Midnight Zone

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
GENERAL INFORMATION
  • Planet Name: Denon
  • Demonym: Denonite, Denonese
  • Region: Inner Rim
  • System Name: Denon
  • System Features:
    The system includes Den (B-type star) around which six planets orbit. Denon is the fourth planet in the system, with the remains of an overmined asteroid belt orbiting between the second and third planets.

    Throughout the system, waystations and waypoints exist to direct traffic through the Hydian Way and Corellian Run super-hyperroutes, and the system is oversaturated with hyperwave transceivers to propagate HoloNet communications.

    Above Denon orbits an array of artificial satellites. Several wealthy individuals maintain orbital residences, and many corporations host orbiting factories or small shipyards. A prominant satellite left by the Metal lords still operates as an open bazaar for those who prefer not to land on the planet itself.
  • Location: Chaos Map
  • Major Imports:
  • Major Exports: Technology, consumer goods, investment opportunities
  • Unexploited Resources: N/A
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
  • Gravity: Standard
  • Climate: Temperate | Controlled
  • Primary Terrain: Urban
  • Atmosphere: Type I (most habitable areas)
LOCATION INFORMATION
  • Capital City: Pentaplex, in District 1
  • Planetary Features: Completely Urban, with minimal preservation of select natural features, and sporradic floating/orbital residences.
  • Major Locations:
    • Prominent Districts:
      • District 1 - The Capital district for Denon, it is home to the Pentaplex, where the Direx Board meets, and many prominent Corpos. District 1 retains the only remaining natural features of Denon, though maintained by artificial means, including the peaks of a mountain range, a forest of kilometer-tall trees, and a river flowing through the district. Old Parliament Plaza, where the former Denon government once met, is now a public park and museum to the city-world.
      • District 3 - The Moonfall district is an industrial wasteland, largely defunct now. District 3 was a thriving industrial center for hundreds of years, until the overmining of Denon's last natural moon changed priorities. Gigantic gravity concentration stations were constructed here, one of the lowest areas of the city-world that lacked high-rise or cloudcutter buildings. Eventually these were joined by weather control stations and other maintenance facilities that could be concentrated in one area.
      • District 7 - Seven Corners is a district centered on the town square which lies at the confluence of several major byways through its region of Denon, featuring a variety of colorful neighborhoods. A bustling epicenter where various classes and commerce often mix, it is best known for Sakedo Tower and being a haven for Darkwire activity.
      • District 9 - District 9 was once a flourishing district in the glory days of the post-gulag Galactic Republic. Now crime has returned to the district largely populated by the Discrete, whose golden ages are now firmly set in history. With resources moved to other districts, District 9 is largely left to decay, even its prominent Eden Megamall has been restored to a makeshift prison and now serves to process labor for exporting to other worlds.
      • District 12 - Better Future Society is the skyscraper which gives this district its name. A prosperous center of trade, with unsubstantiated rumors that it is run by a criminal syndicate, the district has remained steadfast for decades.
      • District 19 - The Upcity is so called after its luxurious infrastructure built with self-sustaining modules for essentials, making it nearly self-sufficient for all but imported luxuries. The district is a cultural center, focusing on performance entertainment, and remains one of the most secure districts with private security patrolling constantly. Residences in the Upcity fetch astronomical prices and only the richest can afford to live here, though many denizens work and visit in the district; both the privileged and the lucky.
    • Cloudcutters and Arcologies:
    • Vertical Division Zones:
      • Cloud Estates
        High above the clouds, these levels are either floating or attached to a very tall cloudcutter. Only the richest live here and few are permitted to visit. Their residents are nicknamed Cloud Flyers.
      • Upper Levels/Sunlight Lofts
        As in the name, these are the levels which receive direct sunlight during the daytime, generally the cloudcutters, surface buildings, and few levels beneath. Most have to be wealthy to live here, though many public destinations reside here for denizens and tourists alike. Their residents, and some workers, are nicknamed Sunnies.
      • Mid Levels/Twilight Belt
        Below the direct sunlight, these levels are deep enough that natural lighting is only dim and usually absent, receiving only one to five hours of indirect light per day. Rain is common, and at times the rain can turn toxic, a phenomenon common to the lower Belt. These levels are more affordable, with a wide range of denizens finding work or residence within the hundreds of levels here. It here that the border between what is commonly seen as respectable, and not, levels can be found. Their residents are nicknamed Duskers.
      • Lower Levels/Midnight Zone
        Beneath all natural light, these are the levels where only the lowest of the low care to go. Residents are either destitute or hiding, and employers are no better than predators. Rain is frequent at the top of the zone, and becomes rarer down into the hundreds of levels beneath; instead, the locals suffer floods of toxic water that pour out of drainage pipes and channels above. The atmosphere is thick with smog and toxins, becoming a Type II atmosphere the lower it goes. This Zone is the largest of the habitable layers, and even the lowest layers stretch that word to its extremes. Residents here are nicknamed Shadows, and only recently has it become a name of pride in Darkwire's Shadowrunners.
      • Abyss
        All but forgotten, the Abyss lives largely in rumors and ghost stories. Extending for countless levels beneath the habitable layers, these are the original city levels of the world. It contains hundreds, perhaps thousands of levels of forgotten, disused city that is largely uninhabitable to sentient life. Swamped in a deadly cocktail of chemical clouds, it could be considered a Type III atmosphere, requiring at least a breath mask to survive it. The upper layers are habitable for short periods of time, particularly with proper equipment and a hazard suit, though long exposure leads to lung and skin damage which can prove fatal. Also known as the jungle, the wildlands, and that hellhole, the Abyss has developed its own diverse ecosystem with numerous types of flora and fauna that make traversing the area difficult at best, proving lethal to most adventurers who wander in. Those rare individuals who are daring, crazy, or desperate enough to make their home or living in the Abyss are nicknamed Ghosts.

POPULATION
  • Native Species: Human
  • Immigrated Species: A varied mix, including Near-Humans, Twi'leks, Sullustans, Trandoshans, Ithorians, Devaronians, Defel, Kel Dor, and many other species.
  • Population: Crowded
  • Demographics: A majority of Humans and Near-Humans, with a mix variety of alien species making up a significant minority population. A xenophile world, all species are welcome on Denon.
  • Primary Languages: Galactic Basic Standard, Huttese
  • Culture: Denon is a world of mass-consumerism and quasi-lawless culture with massive wealth inequality, where the poorest eke out an existence at the whims of their employers, and traditional rules don't apply to the richest. Those without power or wealth but considerable or unique skills may find other methods to ascend the social hierarchy through illicit means, but generally social mobility is completely static for most.

    The society of Denon exists within a stratified hierarchy between the Haves and Have-Nots on the world. The former of which are most often grouped with or insinuated to have sympathies for the corporate ruling class, earning them the moniker Corpos. The latter receive the rather clinical moniker of Discrete, though this is far more commonly encountered in corporate documents than the local vernacular.

    Most of the population is either an employer or employee, whether the job is indentured, stable or on a freelance basis, so work is a consistent theme in the daily milieu alongside finances, professionalism, and opportunity. This serves to reinforce the cultural divide, even those lowest on the rung of leadership or seniority in a profession can be viewed as Corpos by their underlings, leading to the attitude being applied toward almost any figure of authority from parent to shopkeeper and beyond.

    On Denon, the acquisition of wealth and status is greatly prized by peers and anyone more inferior, and seen as a threat by those superior. Cunning and ambition are rewarded qualities across the strata. Independence and loyalty are polarized values; among those lower in class and wealth, independence and working against the system is highly valued while loyalty or 'drinking the Hydrade' is regarded as markers of the Corpos; among those higher in class and wealth, loyalty and 'duty to the bottom line' are prized metrics among the Discrete while questioning motives or participating in extremist discussions/activities will quickly lead to ouster. This leaves the middle class firmly stuck, attempting to pander to both value systems will win accolades from none, so denizens in the middle class attempt to quickly rise in status or earn the favor/protection of those classes they best align with. Displays of wealth are common among the elite, who often opt for residences in the levels where the sun is visible, if not among or above the clouds themselves. Braving odds or gambling on schemes to make money is a common venture outside of the elite, too, the constant reminder of never having enough credits is both a bonding and motivating theme.

    Risk-seeking behavior is not uncommon among all walks of life on Denon, particularly at the top or bottom. Sports often center around risk of injury, such as speeder races or shockboxing, though traditional team sports such as null-g hockey also find fans on Denon. Gambling, pyramid schemes, and other get-rich-quick ventures are commonly advertised to the lower classes, while adventurous product lines or experimental services are commonly attempted by corporations, even when these skirt the bounds of what is legal or acceptable. Bragging about less-than-legal accomplishments is a pastime enjoyed by all classes, though doing so outside of peer groups can lead to punishment in various forms.

    Most denizens do not belong to an established religious group, and even the Force Traditions of the galaxy have a low presence on Denon. A few cult and niche beliefs operate within the largely-secular society, such as Sargon's Few. Many beings worship the almighty credit, making offerings of self, principle, and so forth in order to reap financial rewards as befits their class and station. Religion can spread more easily among the lowest classes, where belief in a higher power is the more tenuous connection day to day when food and credits are scarce. Immigrant species, both new and descendant from emigrations long ago, are more likely to hold onto their particular beliefs than do Humans and the more transient species.

    With so many beings on a world like Denon, standing out against the crowd is usually impossible. For those who love to follow, or even lead on the cutting edge of trends, two have remained the most constant on the city-world. Corporate brands promote and market to all classes, though have particular uptake among the higher classes, especially those Corpo elites, who can even cut ahead of release dates for upcoming products. Brand loyalty is especially important for youth and social climbers, most profits come from the small middle class. More beings take advantage of the other most popular trend, cybernetics. Also called implants or mods, beings can even become cyborgs through employer programs or with extended loans, though many prefer to pay for their own to avoid repossession. Cybernetics themselves go through fashion phases and brand wars, yet even the status of having one sets a denizen out from the flock. Some find the implants to be fun as well as useful, and like tattoos, enthusiasts quickly find themselves hunting for their next body mod.

    It is not uncommon for crime or extremist tendencies to flourish, particularly among the Discrete. Gangs and mobs permeate the darker zones of Denon life, often reaching their hand into the sunlit zones among the corporate elite. Crime and insurgency tend to combine in groups such as Darkwire, who focus on directly undercutting the corporations and their sympathizers, and whose shadowrunners might often hold other identities such as gang membership or a day job. More benign insurgent groups exist, often hidden by apathy or passive-aggression such as the Amavikka, who operate 'freedom trails' for indentured and enslaved workers directly under the noses of their owners.

    Within the Corpo elites, membership within the Direx Board is highly prized and sought after. Many of its members, the DireX, wind up beholden to a more influential DireX, and pledge their votes to follow the influence of the top membership. All DireX are afforded greatly increased respect and leverage in dealings with other corporations and trade partners, even the bottom of the Direx Board grants such a significant boost to status that acts as another stratification within the wealthy. Members and membership are so prized, that when a DireX retires or dies without a successor who can hold the seat, there is often a period of turmoil as corporations and their executives vy against and within one another to fill the void.

    Despite severe stratification across society, violence between strata is not overly common. There are often venues and places of business where members of the elite and lower class congregate and tolerate the other. Exclusion and discrimination is usually reserved outside these neutral grounds. The Sunlight and Twilight zones are frequented by many different types who may coexist in shared spaces, afterwards retreating to differential residences or social spaces with like peers. Yet animosity can still lead to negative incidents which spiral into significant consequences, the planet is something of a tinderbox which needs repeated dampening. This is served by communal successes, sporting matches, levity from the Direx Board, and so forth, and exacerbated by inter-class harassment, oppressive corporate measures, even terrorism.
GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY
  • Government: Corporatocracy
  • Affiliation: Corporate Authorities of Denon (Planetary Government), Galactic Alliance (Member World)
  • Currency: Authority Cash Vouchers, Credits (Such as the Galactic Alliance Credit)
  • Wealth: Varies. The greatest ability to accumulate wealth resides in those with the highest echelons of power, which they hoard to obscene extents and flaunt with abundance. The Wealthy most often reside at the very tops of society also typically reside at the very top levels of the planet, living in cloudcutter penthouses or floating homes above the effects of weather and scarcity both. Below them are those less fortunate, which tapers off quickly. The bulk of the wealth is held by those individuals and corporations of High wealth, who still make up less than a single percentage of the population. Senior employees at fortunate companies, proficient merchants, owner-operators of establishments with high repute, well-patroned artisans or musicians, and savvy criminal masterminds help make up the small middle class of Medium wealth, a volatile position that can shift with changing fortunes or governmental policies. The largest class of population is merely Poor, simply common denizens who live out existence day to day, job to job, with differing levels of success. These are typically workers employed in all types of work, but also includes common traders, spacers, owners of less fortunate businesses, bounty hunters, a majority of the creative types like artisans and musicians, and so on. Most of the criminals, gangsters, or shadowrunners come from this class of the population, who have enough flexibility to work a regular career but are desperate or ambitious enough to need more. They often live, work, and die without ever seeing the sunlight of the upper levels or venturing offworld, and yet there is often measurable advancement to be had that is denied from those even worse off. These are the unwashed masses, the truly Destitute, who eke out a miserable existence at the bottom of Denon's society. They barely survive, living hand-to-mouth, if it is truly living. They are those most commonly exploited, the newest immigrants who arrive with no credits and no opportunities, children of the poorest of the poor, denizens who have lost everything, and far too many more than might ever be noticed enough for record. Their population is controlled only by the high rate of death from disease, malnutrition, a dangerous environment, and truly abhorrent working conditions to provide the maximum profits for the wealthiest corporatists.
  • Stability: Low. The Corporate Authorities of Denon purport to run the planet firmly and smoothly, professing to be only at the whims of Alliance policy and the Direx Board. In truth, the planet is in a period of muffled upheaval, with the illusion of control only maintained through violent crackdowns on Darkwire and other criminal or extremist elements. Riots and strikes occur with an increasingly common frequency, as do CorpSec raids and high-profile arrests of individuals discovered to have connections, sometimes tenable, to more subversive causes. Crime and fraud is on the rise, as are increasingly draconian security policies with varying levels of enforcement.
  • Freedom & Oppression: On paper, Denon is a planet of corporate freedoms and apathy towards individualized actions. The Direx Board proscribes common laws to moderate excessive behaviors, regulate corporate actions, or provide labor rights and taxes to keep Denon attractive as a trade port and a prime options for lucrative business opportunities. In addition, a fierce prohibition on hard drugs such as Spice or Slavery were widely publicized.

    The reality is much different, corporate citizens are first class, and then only by virtue of their purchasing power. Individuals of sufficient wealth can sometimes avoid direct consequences through nepotism or bribery, while those without are subject to the arbitrary natures of CorpSec. A common Denon aphorism states, "There are no laws on Denon, only CorpSec," which illustrates the discriminate manner in which CorpSec applies enforcement of laws that might only exist in the head of a CorpSec officer. For those who can avoid being caught, crime is commonplace and bribery is not unusual, and those with their appendages stuck deepest in the illicit muck tend to reside at both ends of the wealth spectrum.

    As a trade world, the commodities to be bought and sold are limited only by imagination and physical feasibility. Corporations thrive off profits made from selling inferior products to those who don't need them or cannot afford them. Services and fees are often similarly built to provide meager utility while trapping their members in a system that is too inconvenient to divorce. Those who cannot afford to buy new are happy to buy secondhand or salvage, though it is common for even the regular denizens to be priced out of the used market. Money-making opportunities outside of running a business, or being gainfully employed by one, are many. Freelance work is common among the lower classes, and sometimes even those more well off, and jobs can vary greatly in their content, reward, and risk. Contracts are rarely written for these gigs, and predatory practices exist here as well, leading to frequent use of fixers and other middlebeings to act as reputable go-betweens for those offering and seeking jobs. For those without the skills or opportunity to take on these fleeting jobs, there are many disreputable offers which will pay meager credits for indiscriminate participants; who might only suffer a loss of time or dignity at best, life or sanity at worst.
MILITARY & TECHNOLOGY
  • Military: The primary security force on the planet is Corporate Security, nicknamed CorpSec. It is nominally an independent agency which reports only to the Direx Board, though many of its high ranking officers have personal loyalties to individual DireX. CorpSec largely directs itself to enforce law and order on Denon, in addition to the policies issued by the Direx Board. When it comes to working with Alliance Marshals, CorpSec is willing to offer what their resources allow, unless a DireX decides to steer CorpSec in another direction for that case. Their uniforms are black and red, typically carrying both lethal and non-lethal weapons to subdue subjects as needed. There are two CorpSec divisions that the general public might interact with:
    • CorpSec Border Patrol: CorpSec maintains a naval patrol force to police trade and traffic at the conjunction of the two hyperlanes where it resides: the Corellian Run and the Hydian Way. Its primary goal is to avert piracy and maintain control of the system, generally only taking an interest in visiting starships that arouse suspicion or have paid for an escort.
    • CorpSec Planetwide Security: On Denon itself, CorpSec's main initiative is security. In most areas, CorpSec officers present are there to observe and intervene only when necessary. At times, CorpSec will establish checkpoints or heavier presence in riskier areas, and curious patrols are not uncommon in high-crime areas. Individual officers may be susceptible to bribes, though generally only political maneuvering will cause CorpSec to properly relinquish a claim on any visitor or denizen they have arrested. CorpSec is known for pursuing those who escape its justice, though with underwhelming manpower for the entire planet they are just as likely to issue bounties and let the matter lie. CorpSec is most often seen as intimidating and punitive by the lower classes, merely a thorny bother by those in the middle, and a tool to be wielded by those at the top.
  • Technology: Galactic Standard. Many prominent technology businesses have their headquarters on Denon, and many more do business on the world, making it a mecca of invention and innovation for those who can afford it. Denon also has access to the wider Galactic Alliance economic markets as a member world.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Eons ago, the Rakata held the world of Denon within their empire. As their ruins crumbled and memory faded, Denon found itself at the confluence of rising tradelanes that would become the Hydian Way and the Corellian Run. The world became a bustling epicenter of commerce, increasingly dedicating cities, and then entire regions, to support the infinite growth required of good business. Denon grew prosperous and populous, its cities eventually growing, then merging, to completely engulf the planet in a jungle of durasteel skyscrapers.

It remains difficult to piece together the planet's history prior to the Gulag Plague. What remains known is part of legend and encyclopedic knowledge elsewhere, confirming that Denon was part of the original Galactic Republic from among its earliest years. It survived conflicts and oppressors, escaping most relatively unscathed. This only served to enhance Denon's prosperity and influence, its role as a trade world typically kept it open and welcoming to beings from across the galaxy and all walks of life.

Denon suffered the Gulag Plague in the worst of ways, at its peak it was losing millions by the day. By the time the galaxy began to emerge from the plague's devastation, the city-world was a lawless center where fear and muscle had kept order only in small pockets of the planet. Beyond those, vicious creatures picked up where the plague left off, biting and transforming their sentient victims into mindless creatures of bloodlust. Under siege from within, Denon was avoided and pitied until efforts by the Omega Pyre sanitized the zombie threat and restored a semblance of stability upon the world.

The world found itself aligned or controlled by various governments in modern times. After the Omega Protectorate abandoned Denon, it fell under the shadow of the One Sith. A renewed Galactic Republic attempted to liberate the world, a victory that was plagued by the ongoing war with the One Sith in the Core worlds. Republic membership was short-lived, with war giving rise to piracy and crime lords who gained more control than the flailing Republic could exert, despite repeated attempts.

At one point the criminal underworld, controlled by crime lords from District 12, were seen as a more legitimate authority than the planetary parliament on Denon, until they were flushed out with Republic aid.

In another era, a droid-led enclave of Metal Lords designated Denon as the center of a new droid-organic utopia, overseeing their experiment from an orbital station high above Denon.

Repeated attacks destabilized the trade world, shaking the foundations of free commerce and shattering confidence in the reliability of supply chains. The populace grew weary of disruptions to their daily lives, turning to black markets to fill the gap. Despised but necessary, criminal networks grew powerful on Denon, with Hutts, syndicates, gangs, dethroned metal lords, and mobs all finding more legitimacy among the public than the titular ruling government. Parliamentary elections turned into something of a sport among the wealthy, while the legislature's daily acts effectively lost all meaning.

When a group of exiles from the Corporate Sector arrived and began to gain power in the late 850s ABY, it was largely received with apathy; just another changing of the guard for Denon. With a rise of new criminal networks and the absence of any strong ruling presence, some individuals even welcomed the new corporate class of elites, particularly their swift responses to disruptions caused by a fledgling criminal group called Darkwire. Those same markets disrupted by Darkwire were quickly taken advantage of by the newly-dubbed Corpos. By 858 ABY, the Corpos had amassed enough legitimacy and power to replace the parliament with their own Direx Board, cementing Denon's government as a corporatocracy.

With life settling into normal routines under the Corporate Authorities of Denon, the world soon enjoyed renewed prosperity as the center of a new trade empire spanning a dozen or so worlds from the Core to Mid-Rim.

Even criminal acts seemed to settle into normal, with the planet's police and security forces replaced by the hardliner Corporate Security, who promised paradise to the obedient. Nominally dedicated to law enforcement, CorpSec's officers enjoyed wide purview to dispense justice in new or inventive ways, even without any existing law for the offense. Any dissent that arose could be quickly quashed by the newly-deputized bullies, driving dissent and crime further underground, which gave Denon a shiny new luster of stability.

While CAD signed binding contracts in the open with one hand, they used the other to make handshake deals with Darkwire. Every world market that collapsed before CAD's arrival was a cut of the profits to their burgeoning symbiotic shadow in the underworld. As the sphere of influence grew, both sides became bolder and their partnership began to divest. Recruiting from the underworld, Darkwire added to its ranks with every CorpSec arrest or exorbitant fine issued. When the Corporate Authorities decided Darkwire had grown too big for its ego, the underworld was ready to hit back.

The Corporate Authorities exercised much of their power in the dark. Public dealings paled in comparison to backroom maneuvering, drawing on the tricks already common among Denon's elites. Even with CorpSec as a public show of force, CAD's real methods of control remained in the shadows. Manipulating markets, small laws to nudge sections of the Discrete into poverty or prosperity, and sometimes even more direct subversion. At one point, the Corporate Authorities experimented with advanced HRDs that could pass for organic, using them to infiltrate their enemies, both corporate and criminal.

Project Brightband began as a technological success, with the Corporate Authorities able to replace or defame specific rivals in ways they had never dreamed. The Brightband HRDs did the same to corporate rivals as to their criminal thorns, and for a time even Darkwire was subdued. Though they could pass for their organic doubles, the Brightband doppelgängers retained much of the Corpo arrogance in their programming, which eventually led to being exposed and identified. When Darkwire discovered the duplicity, it struck a devastating blow aimed squarely at the Direx Board.

The assassination of Quanatain Xopsaloff, DireX and Bursar of the First Bank of Denon, sent Denon teetering on the edge of instability again. Darkwire's growth from Corporate pawn to Corporate antagonist set them hurtling on a path towards open conflict. Already reeling from a groundquake that had damaged many districts on the planet, the instability forced Denon's corporate leaders to take drastic measures to regain the upper hand, making a formal plea for entry into the Galactic Alliance. With strength from its new partnership, the Corporate Authorities of Denon maintain control of their world for now, but just barely. Beneath the surface, there simmers a recipe for civil war, just waiting to erupt.
 
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It's plain to see that this represents a colossal amount of work, with a real effort made to honor Chaos continuity and include all the many writers who have touched on Denon over the years. The level of detail is fantastic. This will be a great resource for those seeking Denon plot hooks, or to flesh out their posts on the planet with background details. Beautiful job! Approved.
 

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