433 Spidau

Located in the Nubian Expanse within the Attican Traverse, 433 Spidau is a post-nuclear world which was discovered by a Salarian deep-space mining ship in 2185. What marks the planet as unique is archaeological evidence of a nuclear extinction event at some point in its history. Previously the homeworld of an unknown race, 433 Spidau’s former inhabitants destroyed themselves approximately 1,000 years ago in a self-inflicted nuclear holocaust, which left the planet devoid of life and highly irradiated. Evidence gathered by the Salarian Institute for Exo-Archaeological Research points to the destruction of at least 90 cities in the historical nuclear exchange. This brings the total number of known sapient species destroyed by nuclear war to 11.

The discovery of 433 Spidau and its subsequent occupation by the Salarian Institute for Exo-Archeological Research triggered a galaxy-wide scandal, after an anonymous employee accused the institute of being a front for Salarian intelligence services. According to the leak, the institute’s research is funded and carefully monitored by Salarian intelligence - any interesting discoveries the scientists find are quickly passed along to agents embedded within the institute.

The institute’s director, Narid Jarwinar, rebuked the accusations, but later was forced to resign after new evidence surfaced which contradicted his earlier statements. Research documents obtained from scientific teams working on 433 Spidau indicated that advanced weaponry, discovered in a fallout bunker on the planet, had mysteriously gone missing after being shipped to the institute for analysis. The documents implied that Salarian intelligence agents had intercepted the shipment en route.

In his last act as director, Narid Jarwinar responded to the new evidence by conducting an internal review of all institute staff and terminating the employment contracts of staff members who were found to have ties to the Salarian intelligence services. Simultaneously, a large portion of the institute’s funding was pulled, presumably by said intelligence services. The institute is now appealing to the public for investors, citing the discovery of 433 Spidau as an exciting opportunity to become a part of galactic history.