In the Space Squad 51 universe, the Outer Sol—a vast region beyond the gas giants—was once considered a desolate frontier, too cold and dark for colonization. But everything changed with the advent of mini suns, artificial stars capable of bringing light and warmth to some of the inhospitable regions of the solar system. However, the creation of these mini suns didn’t come without shadowy history.
Before the mini suns were even a glimmer of possibility, the Outer Sol was considered a fringe region, too far from the Sun to sustain human life. Colonists lived in freezing darkness, stuck in scattered mining colonies and underdeveloped outposts. When a group of rebellious engineers and rogue colonists decided to steal a piece of cutting-edge technology from the Inner Sol—the heart of human civilization—everything changed.
1. The Theft: A Daring Heist for the Future
The genesis of the mini suns lies in a bold theft orchestrated by the Outer Sol’s earliest settlers. They didn’t have the knowledge to develop the mini suns on their own, but they had the resources and technology. So, they did what any desperate, resourceful colony would do—they stole it.
The technology in question was a piece of revolutionary fusion energy device designed by the most advanced engineers from the Inner Sol. This technology was meant to be the foundation for sustainable energy for deep space travel and megacities. At the time, it was locked away in a secure, heavily guarded facility on Mars—a place where no one from the Outer Sol would have had access.
The Outer Sol wasn’t going to let a little thing like security stop them, though. Using covert operations to steal key blueprints, they also smuggled out a critical energy core—the heart of a mini sun. With this stolen device in hand, the Outer Sol colonists duplicated the core and began constructing mini suns.
While the theft went unnoticed by the Inner Sol for a time, it didn’t take long for the authorities to catch wind of it. By the time the Inner Sol launched an investigation, the Outer Sol had already built their first mini sun. The extra light and warmth benefited the Saturn and Jupiter systems as much as they Outer Sol and they depended upon the mini sun as much as the Outer Sol. So, the mini sun stayed and the Outer Sol manufactured three more, but not without fueling hostilities with the Inner Sol.
2. Mini Suns: The Solution to the Outer Sol’s Desperation
Four artificial stars that were placed in orbit in strategic locations in the solar system, providing heat and light to make worlds far from the natural sun more habitable. Triton, a moon of Neptune’s, became one of the first colonies to benefit. Its ice-crusted surface was warmed and the melt created enormous lakes to provide water to barren, thirsty planetoids and moons. The minor planets, such as Pluto and Eris, could grow more crops and happier colonists led to greater productivity. The Outer Sol, once a desolate place on the fringes of human civilization, became a vital region providing raw rare elements and manufacturing technologies requiring rare elements to work.
3. The Price of Crime
The theft of the fusion technology and the subsequent development of the mini suns didn’t come without consequences. The Inner Sol resented the theft and the Outer Sol getting credit for their invention. Many Innlings considered the theft an outright act of treason. As the first mini sun lit up, the governments of the Inner Sol (from the Sun out to the Saturn system) sent warnings and threats, constantly reminding the Outlings they weren’t worthy of a star or the pursuit of happiness.
4. Mini Suns as Symbols
As the mini suns spread hope throughout the Outer Sol, they became a symbol of equality and independence. But for many, the mini suns were also a constant reminder of the Outer Sol’s inferiority to the Inner Sol. Considered miscreants and criminals, many colonies in the Inner Sol do not welcome Outlings on their worlds for longer than is necessary to unload and load a ship. Yet the Inner and Outer Sol need each other.
