Denon ToD

Denon was a planet at the confluence of the and. It was an ecumenopolis with an immense population, and was often considered the most important planet in the. Though a planet of immense economic and historical importance, it had a relatively poor reputation, and was often relatively under-valued in the eyes of the galaxy as a whole.

An ancient colony, Denon played a key role in the develop and spread of s and their related species across the galaxy. Re-discovered by the during the, it became a steadfast Republic member, and at various points during history was the forward border of the Republic against outside attack.

Description
Denon was a planet located in the of the Inner Rim. It sat at the junction of the Corellian Run and Hydian Way, a position of immense importance in economics, military strategy, and exploration. It was a major player in galactic history, but unlike many similar worlds was not located in the and was not defined by a strong culture, which reduced its impact on the galactic memory.

Surface
Geologically, Denon was a traditional terrestrial planet, possessing a molten metallic core, rocky mantle, and silicate crust. The planet was transformed into a completely urbanized environment early in galactic history, with the proto-ecumenoplis dating to the. By the time of re-discovery by the Galactic Republic the planet was fully converted, with all surface area completely urbanized.

Denon’s population varied across historical periods, but from the onward remained mostly constant at approximately 500 billion sentient organic beings. In addition to these permanent residents the planet’s status as a commercial center provided for a large transient and temporary population, generally ranging from 20-40% of the total, though this was vulnerable to rapid shifts during major galactic convulsions. Most of this itinerant grouping did not live on the surface, but occupied a wide variety of orbiting facilities of semi-permanently docked vessels.

Unlike Coruscant, Denon’s polar ice caps were cannibalized for their water resources, and the polar regions were also fully urbanized. All standing bodies of water had been drained and subsequently built over. Water was stored in vast subterranean basins below the planet’s lowest layers of construction.

Denon’s skyscrapers and other buildings were immense, with the average city section topping out at ten kilometers above the ground level. Though this was an extraordinary elevation of artificial development, it was not sufficient to fully out-scale the natural features beneath, with differences in height between continental, ocean, and high plateau areas still apparent in the city surface. This created an oddly stratified structural effect observable on a planetary scale.

The planetary city was divided into many subsections, and stratification of society occurred in three dimensions. In Denon’s Lower Strata natural light failed to penetrate, and all illumination was provided by artificial means. Further down, in areas collectively known as Bedrock, there was generally no standing light at all, only industrial machinery and droids.

There was a significant difficulty with urban decay. Areas regularly fell into disrepair and became officially abandoned, signified by the elimination of network access for power, water, and other essential resources. While some of these areas were inhabited by squatters, others were given over to feral animals, droids, or simply gradually crumbled away. This state was generally not permanent, as territories on Denon possessed considerable value, and once it had depreciated sufficiently abandoned areas were generally acquired for re-development. In the post-Ruusan period roughly 10-15% of the planet’s surface was in a state of ‘abandonment’ at any given time.

Livability
Like any ecumenopolis, massive geoengineering solutions were required to sustain life on such a highly urbanized planet. Denon’s atmosphere was monitored by massive Chemical exchange stations positioned in key areas across the surface that conducted immense reactions to maintain the balance of gases in the atmosphere and preserve heat sufficient to sustain life.

Though immense Thermic Recyclers reprocessed all but a tiny percentage of waste into new raw materials, some garbage was too volatile for these reactions. Strategically positioned orbital conveyors were used in the elimination of these toxins, while generally importing massive quantities of foodstuffs on the opposite leg.

A vast network crisscrossed the planet, feeding energy upwards from the Bedrock where the stations were positioned. Proximity to a station insured stability, so the most prosperous and exclusive areas tended to cluster, ribbon-like along these corridors.

History
Main Article History of Denon

Citizens
Denon was home to a highly mixed population, with permanent communities of upwards of three hundred thousand species making up its five hundred billion residents. Despite this immense diversity the population was majority human, composing between fifty-two and fifty-five percent of the total. Denon’s population grew from a lower earlier number through much of the, but had stabilized at roughly 500 billion by the Ruusan Reformation, and population never varied by more than one percent from that number subsequently.

The citizens of Denon were known as Denonites, a term that was used to describe all permanent residents, both those born on the planet and its numerous immigrants. Due to the planet’s cultural inferiority complex, the term was rarely used. Denonites traveling the galaxy tended to identify with the Inner Rim first, and on planet with their district, political party, or species.

Government and politics
Denon has been a democracy since joining the Galactic Republic, but the precise system of governance changed drastically over time, with major reforms generally coinciding with the conclusion of major conflicts. At the same time as the Ruusan Reformation Denon adopted the Jargen Charter, a system that attempted to induce new levels of equality and prosperity by organizing based not on physical space, but population.

The Jargen Charter utilized a system of dual representation, with each administrative division possessing an executive and a representative to the next level in the hierarchy.

Administrative Divisions
According to the Jargen Charter Denon was divided into 1000 Districts of 500 million residents. Each of the Districts was then further divided into 1000 Sections of 500,000 residents. The result is 1 million Sections on the planet in total. The boundaries of these divisions were determined by a committee of administrative droids, freshly wiped models so as to prevent bias in redistricting, every ten years. While this situation outwardly appears unstable, given the mobility of people over a planet’s surface, it maintained due to the nature of Denon’s planetary city. With one hundred percent of the surface built over, truly ‘new’ construction was essentially impossible, and mobility generally resulted in slight changes in vacancy rates. Large scale urban renewal or destruction projects caused greater shifts, but were manageable over the time-frame. Districts and Sections were, however, vulnerable to massive size variations, as population density variance, and the presence of large ‘abandoned’ areas with no official residents, created disparity.

The three principle levels of government: Section, District, and Planet, were theoretically distinct, but in practice had immense overlap. Each level had its own bureaucracies, and turf conflicts were immensely common, as was corruption, graft, and species politics. Officially the District level was the superior administrative level, save with regard to interplanetary affairs. This was a vague ruling, as commerce moved fluidly from intraplanet to interstellar, and every single District had at least one, and often many, spaceports.

Size inequalities between Districts and Sections also created political imbalances. In the ecumenoplis environment, wealth translates into space, and so the Jargen Charter created a system where the divisions with the greatest physical size were also the wealthiest, and as a side-effect, generally human-dominant. Further many less powerful districts and sections were forced to incorporate the vast abandoned and wasteland areas into their polity, which having no one to speak for them were pawned off on those least able to refuse the burden and subsequently least able to improve them. This led to a growing problem of decay that would not be addressed until Imperial Administration completely changed the system.

Representation
Each Section has an elected Administrator who serves as the local executive, and may form his administration as he wishes. Most Sections are governed by long-term local charters dating back hundreds of years, but radical change is quite possible at this scale, and often happens if the local species-mix shifts significantly. A Section also elects a Councilor, who serves as the representative to the District Council.

Each District Council is a one thousand member body assigned to make legislative decisions for the District. It also chooses the Representative the District sends to the Planetary Parliament from among the ranks of the Councilors. Executive authority, and control of the various District-level bureaucracies, falls under the authority of the Manager. This official is popularly elected, the highest office so chosen on Denon.

At the planetary level the arrangement is much the same. The one thousand Representatives make up the Planetary Parliament. There is a single planetary Governor who holds executive authority. This position is not popularly elected as attempts to run a five hundred billion person vote have never proven practical. Instead, candidates compete to win a vote from the one million Councilors. While in theory any citizen can run for the governorship, in practice the position always goes to either a long-serving Representative or a high ranking member of one of the executive ministries.

Denon also had a voice in the, but only indirectly. The Ruusan Reformation’s reorganization placed Denon in the, which had a single representative to the Senate. While the economic power of Denon was overwhelming compared to the other systems in the Sector, it had to share political power, especially with the neighboring worlds of the Correllian Run and Hydian Way. Though it probably could have insisted on always sending a Denonite as Senator, the planet officially had only one vote in the Conference Committee of the Sector to determine this. The lack of a united planetary opinion on galactic level issues further diluted Denon’s authority in this matter, and as a result the Iseno Sector’s Senator was a Denonite only roughly one-third of the time. The nominee from Denon was determined by the Governor, but the choice had to be ratified by a sixty-percent approval in the Parliament.

All major elected office on Denon, Administrator, Councilor, Manager, Representative, Governor, or Senator possessed a five-year term of service. An individual could be reelected once, but there was a two-term limit on all positions. This created something of a ‘tiered’ effect in the government, in that almost all candidates for higher office had finished out their terms in lower posts.

Bureaucracy
Denon’s executive branch was organized into a series of Ministries carrying out the day-to-day workings of the government. These existed at each level, with those of the Districts roughly mirroring the organization of the planet as a whole. Section bureaucracy was more localized and much more idiosyncratic; often having unique systems optimized for the needs of whatever species dominated that particular area.

Ministries
 * Defense – Controlled the military, including the Denon Planetary Defense Fleet and Denon Planetary Security Force. Maintained military programs. Planetary level only.
 * Environment – A large agency that controlled public land, ran park systems, and controlled industrial standards. It was also responsible for recycling, weather control, and the maintenance of the machinery necessary to sustain life on the planet.
 * Interior – A powerful agency that conducted a wide variety of public programs dealing with education, housing, labor, media, transportation, and urban renewal.
 * Justice – Responsible for the courts, police operations, and other security issues. At the planetary level it operated Denon Customs Enforcement and the Inter-District Police Agency.
 * State – At the planetary level engaged in management of System assets and relations with other worlds in the Iseno Sector and beyond. At the District level governed the relationship between one District to another, especially its principle neighbors.
 * Treasury – The essential financial branch of the government, responsible for taxation and disbursements; also conducted the census and other data-gathering operations mandated by the Jargen Charter.

Parties
While politics at the Section level was sufficiently hands-on and sensitive to cultural concerns to largely avoid party development, the District councils and Planetary Parliament had strong parties as a means of expressing larger political trends. Parties were highly variable, capable of dissolving and reforming extremely rapidly when elections altered the political landscape or in response to major galactic events. Party membership was an important means of continuity in the face of the turnover inducing term-limit rules.

In the final decades of the old republic Denon had six major and four minor parties.

Major Parties
 * Charter Mandate Party – A catch-all group designed to unite the planet’s traditionalist groups who found the current system functional and did not desire great change. This party was strongest among the upper middle class and wealthy groups, those best in place to accept its traditionalist focus. Somewhat surprisingly it also drew strength from a number of alien polities, as many species of conservative mindset preferred this approach.
 * Denon Advancement Party – a planet-first party, this powerful voice strongly advocated for policies that benefitted Denon’s development and place in the galaxy, stressing the world’s importance and it’s commercial weight. It had strong ties to the security establishment, often supporting higher customs duties and export-friendly industrial policy.
 * Living Standards Affiliation – a populist group that represented the lower classes and downtrodden areas of the planet, it supported distribution policies to aid the planet’s extremely impoverished and restrict corporate power. Most often it sought to prevent corporate control of re-development projects and preserve the people’s voice. Though it had broad-based support, it was a disjointed and somewhat weak group as a whole.
 * Next Wave Party – reform minded, this was the smallest of the major parties, and held the least concrete power, all while advocating for the most extreme policies. This group had shifting support, drawing heavily on the young, the disenfranchised, and recent immigrants. It often proposed drafting a new charter.
 * Renewed Development Group – the voice of Denon’s corporate interests, this party was not widely liked, but massively powerful, and had allies among the wealthy and certain populations interested principally in economic advancement. Its power waxed and waned with the economy of the planet (and the galaxy).
 * United Rights League – this was a diverse party that represented numerous non-human populations, pushing for legislation that ‘served the needs’ of these different groups better than the current, human-dominant system. As the desires of the many alien species of the planet varied widely, this party focused on legislation to prevent abuses and maintain equality under the law for all sentients. It was often a deeply polarizing group.

Minor Parties
 * Bureaucratic Reform Party – a largely one-issue group, this was a block dissatisfied by Denon’s ministries and committed to enforcing a system of term-limits to the bureaucracy in a manner similar to that of elected officials in a hope of making the government fairer, more responsive, and less vulnerable to corruption.
 * Deconstruction Movement – a radical, vaguely environmentalist movement with the intent of drastically reducing Denon’s urbanization and restoring a system that, if not wholly natural, would make for better, more fulfilling lives for its citizens.
 * Homeland Preservation Party – ostensibly an advocate for increased public safety and greater vetting of immigration policy, this was in reality a pro-Human movement designed to isolate and reduce the influence of aliens in the government. The leader of this party would eventually be tapped to be the Denon’s first Imperial Governor.
 * Separatists – smallest and most recently formed of the parties, this group advocated for secession from the Republic and self-governance for Denon. It was connected to large Separatist movements on many worlds.

Law enforcement and Public Safety
Denon had, theoretically, a uniform planet-wide legal code that was enforced by the relevant District and Section-level authorities in order to maintain public order and the rule of law. In practice the planet had a highly varied set of legal systems dependent upon the economic status, species composition, and corporate and industrial presence in any given Section or District.

Law enforcement was largely a local affair, with each Section responsible for razing its own police force. Districts also have a law enforcement agency at their level, generally focusing on white-collar crime and large criminal organizations that reach across section lines. The District is also the administrative level responsible for specialized law enforcement details, such as spaceport police, drug enforcement teams, or event security.

These units are all highly variable and their efficacy was generally tied to the economic status of their demographic base. Low prosperity areas tended to have law enforcement that was highly vulnerable to corruption, disorganization, sloth, and underfunding. This was not a universal trend, however, and often breaks down on species lines. Certain species had inefficient legal systems regardless of wealth level, while other terribly poor societies proved to be extremely law-abiding. Inter-species tension was also a key issue for law enforcement, and leads to major conflicts between District and Section legal regimes.

At the planet-wide level law enforcement fell under the Justice Ministry’s aegis. This agency operated the Intra-District Police Agency, a pan-regional organization designed to coordinate information and resources across all of Denon. This was a small agency with an analytical focus and few field operatives. It called upon local resources when muscle was needed, or potentially contractors. This agency coordinated with off-world law enforcement, including the and  when necessary.

The IDPA was the principal regulator of bounty hunting on Denon, and had a set of rules applying to all bounties officially issued on planet, and a legal code governing the responsibilities of bounty hunters. While these rules were often flagrantly violated or simply ignored outright, they provide an important mechanism to restrain criminal syndicates. Many otherwise untouchable crime lords were been brought down on charges of ‘posting an unauthorized bounty’ when a captured hunter revealed their employer.

The Justice Ministry also controlled Denon Customs Enforcement, a large, formidable, and highly independent agency that reported directly to the governor. DCE had authority over all travel to and from the planet and its satellites, as well as any other celestial object in the system with the sole exception of refueling stations (Denon’s hyperspace location meant that over seventy-five percent of all ships in the system were simply refueling and re-orienting, not stopping). With the power to enforce a wide ranging set of laws and commercial regulations, DCE could exert tremendous influence over almost any person, business, or government that wished to do regular business on Denon. The agency was handicapped in its law enforcement mission by a secondary mandate to collect revenue via customs duties, an objective rife with opportunity for corruption. Though this created a systemic weakness, DCE was so large and varied (it had over 1 million personnel) that it maintained a solid law enforcement force.

Outside of the Justice Ministry, the Environment Ministry also fielded a large number of security personnel, tasked with the monitoring of critical infrastructure to maintain planetary habitability. These units were heavily droid-based, and had a wide ranging authority to eliminate threats with extreme prejudice, making them deeply feared among a large portion of planet’s lower classes. The Environment Ministry also maintained public safety resources for disaster management, running the Planetary Crisis Center. Most similar responsibilities, such as fire safety and hazardous chemical response, were conducted at the Section and District levels.

Military
For much of its early history, Denon was an important base of operations for the Republic military, hosting large army and navy units and several major spacedocks. During the the planet was little more than a massive military protectorate, and was placed under martial law for almost a century. Following the Ruusan Reformation this military presence was eliminated, but Denon’s government recognized the need for a local defense force to protect its system and shipping.

Navy
Denon’s naval force was the Denon Planetary Defense Fleet, or DPDF. A relatively large military force by the standards of the, its primary missions were system security and anti-piracy operations. Consisting mostly of small corvettes and gunships, with a few command frigates, it was not configured for set-piece space battles. By the time of the Clone Wars much the materiel of the naval force was considerably out of date.

The DPDF maintained several highly trained marine units for boarding actions, with most of their troops recruited and trained locally at the Nivimian Marine Academy, an institution with a galaxy-wide pedigree. Though it possessed the authority to call for an construct a standing army in wartime, it had never used this power and even the plans to do so were woefully underdeveloped.

Other Groups
Denon had a vast array of static planetary defenses, many of them dating back thousands of years and periodically upgraded with new technology. These systems, including planetary shields, Golan defense platforms, planetary ion cannons, ground-based artillery, and other infrastructure, was controlled by the Denon Planetary Security Force. A small, insular agency often considered a make-work program for the children of the powerful and wealthy it was poorly funded and generally ignored

The Israin Urban Warfare Center, a specialized semi-private training academy for combat in three-dimensional highly urbanized environments, maintained a legal exemption to raise two ground units of strength. These units were principally mercenaries and were often dispatched to far-flung galactic locations, but were obligated to serve in the defense of Denon during wartime.

Culture
Though a commercial powerhouse and a major industrial planet, Denon was a planet of limited cultural presence. Lacking the historical prestige of the Core Worlds, the planet suffered from an intense cultural inferiority complex coupled with a very real deficit of cultural achievement compared to any of the Core Worlds it hoped to rival. As a result, unlike several other ecumenopoli, such as, , or , there was no united culture on Denon. Most resident Denonites did not even identify with the planet, preferring the label of their species or simply the term ‘Rimmer.’

So-called ‘high’ art was limited on Denon, and the planet was not known for any major artistic styles, despite vibrant arts scenes in some Districts. Instead the planet was a major player in the field of populist entertainment, especially intensive sports. Various forms of prize-fighting, both legal and illegal, were extremely popular on the planet. was a noted contest of very high popularity, and Denon hosted the annual Galactic Shockboxing Championship. The highly visible presence of sports in Denon’s society was often remarked upon by citizens of the Core Worlds as one of Denon’s unsuitable features.

Economy
Positioned at a hyperspace intersection of immense importance, this translated to Denon’s economy. An immense trade hub, the planet was one of the galaxy’s top ten commercial centers. Transport and all related enterprises, such as finance, lodging, repair, storage, and more were priority one for the planet.

These were closely followed the by the industrial economy. Denon could not match the industrial output of a shipyard planet such as or, and did not manufacture louxuries in the fashion of  or  Low-quality finished goods and manufacturing assembly dominated, principally as a means of converting raw materials and basic production from the Rim into something suited for purchase by citizens of the core. The bulk of Denon’s production was common, everyday personal use items and business supplies. Datapads, plasteel canisters, and similar materials predominated.

Though a planet of great wealth and economy clout; Denon was also a planet of great disparity. While a number of major corporations, such as, had headquarters on Denon, and the planet’s elite were among the galaxy’s richest, the Lower Strata housed billions in extreme poverty. The planet lacked the moderating influence of noblese oblige that penetrated the lives of Core Worlds nobility, following instead a laisse faire economic system rife for abuse by powerful corporations and corrupt local politicians.

As Denon’s wealth was pulled towards it upper economic tiers it tended to be removed from the planet. Much of the planet’s corporate wealth was held through old and powerful corporations linked to the Core, and this led to a substantial wealth exodus via corporate account-shifting. A similar problem occurred with personal assets, for emigration by those who acquired considerable financial security was common, with significant numbers leaving for Alsakan, Coruscant, and Hubmarine. This situation, which cemented Denon as the lesser partner in trades with the Core, contributed heavily to the planet’s cultural inferiority complex.

Behind the scenes
This version of the planet was developed by Mechalich starting in late 2011. It focuses on the planet in the years immediately prior to the Clone Wars and sees its principle use in the Shakvail: Tales of Denon project. This version of the planet aims to avoid conflict with canon whenever possible, while adding sufficient detail in description to make the planet a livable, viable world.

Appearances

 * Shakvail: Beginnings
 * ''Shakvail: Tales of Denon