Islands

''The Islands? Yeah, I've been there. I was on one of the first colony ships to go through the gate into Inovum. We started on the moons around Inovum Minor, set up a few basic hab blocks. I worked the scanner drones, searching for minerals and other rare goods. ''

''...Huh? Yeah, I was there the day the Republic arrived too. Damned Pillar kids, I bet you think it was some great victory for the mighty Circle. It was hell and panic and death and it felt like our doom. They hit us like nothing we'd ever seen. Their battlecruisers punched through every attack ship in the colony wave in under 3 hours. We got reports of giant monsters being deployed in boarding actions, armed to the teeth and impossible to put down. ''

''It took a month fought in blood, ships and lives to give the Republic enough pause to begin talks. After the translators were interfaced and communication could begin, we found the same monsters we fought were the race we were negotiating with. They were as aggressive at the table as they were on the battlefield. We gave them enough of Inovum to keep them happy, and to screw those of us who came here looking for a new life. Some analysts now are saying that Circle could and should kick the Republic off the stargate. I say enough blood has been split over that damned gate and the last thing the Republic needs is a good reason to go to war.   ''

The Islands constellation is known to many in the Pillars as a great frontier for expansion with promises of wealth and a new life. Despite being home to many colonies from the races of Pillar, the Islands are not completely without its own denizens. The Kovian and Mantos Republic both call the Islands their home and there are those among these powerful races that would see the sector returned to them.

Toldem System
The Toldem system is the home of the Mantos republic and acts as their political, military and economic centre.

Inovum System
The Inovum system is the meeting point between Pillar and the Islands. This system is home to the stargate that connects Pillar and the Islands.

A Distant Point in a Great Swirl of Lights
Both the Republic and the Kovians developed a great distance from the stargate that joined them to the Pillars region. Though their great minds had long discerned it was unlike the other lights that surrounded it, neither race could feasibly investigate the gate until they had developed sufficient means of interstellar travel.