Norton's Crossing

Norton's Crossing is a terrestrial natural satellite in the Chi Eridani system. Its connection to other colonized systems like Eridanus, Terrel, Gliese 86, and Dagmar's Star has helped form part of its history and wealth.

Discovery
The planet was discovered in late 2423 by the independent Eridania Expedition led by the wealthy Captain Jeremiah Norton. The Chi Eridani system was chosen as a layover point after discovering branching, stable slipspace routes from the system. While in the system, the expedition discovered an Earth-analog moon with visible oceans and a primitive ecosystem around Tehom, the second planet orbiting the binary system's primary star. Formally known as Chi Eridani A II, Tehom is a massive, hot oceanic super-earth with a dense atmosphere mostly composed of carbon dioxide, making it wholly unsuitable for human life. Tehom's gravity is strong enough to retain substantial amounts of light gases in its atmosphere. Although the quantities of helium-3 are proportionally small, they are enough to support a gas-skimming and refinery industry for local fusion fuel needs.

One ship from the expedition returned to colonized space to report their findings thus far, attracting the attention of governments, corporations, and independents with word of another Earth-analog. Other scouts were sent to investigate in more detail.

Settlement and rising autonomy sentiments
Due to the peculiarities of Norton's Crossing's habitability, the typical rules for homesteading were suspended and a special commission was organized to manage the settlement. The commission was incompetent, often issuing broad and vague titles to land and resources. The BXR Mining Corporation and Liang-Dortmund Corporation established large claims on the primary continent and swiftly came into conflict over conflicting claims. Although the conflict was initially fought in court, the protracted legal battle swiftly escalated into a proxy war of sabotage and shooting engagements. This chaos only relented when both companies settled out of court and formed the Norton's Crossing Corporate Council. The chaos from the corporate competition and the limited mission of each company's security forces ultimately created conditions for criminal elements and dissidents to find footing on the world. In the 2450s, Operation: FREQUENT TUNDRA and the Office of Naval Intelligence's Bravo-9 Division turned their sights on Norton's Crossing to recon the situation, identify potential targets, and infiltrate groups. Despite this, the companies and parts of the colony enjoyed some profits from manufacturing, mining, and trading with nearby systems as they too were colonized and established.

Although the Corporate Council worked for a time, independent colonists felt that the council was dominated by interstellar megacorporations and that an independent government could meet the growing challenges of the moon better. As such, a people's government known as the Republic of Norton's Crossing formed. Recognition of this government was limited, even on the moon itself. The Republic nonetheless began amassing weapons, light vehicles, and a few ships with the intent of fighting the security forces of both Liang-Dortmund and BXR, evolving into an independence movement. With a small coalition of citizen allies, the companies lobbied the CMA and UEG as a whole to get assistance through 2493. Although the central military-political apparatus' of the UEG as a whole and the CMA in particular were focused elsewhere and believed these threats as a cash saving ploy by the megacorporations, ONI instead took the situation more seriously.

Insurrection
The CMA and UEG would come around far too late, as all-out conflict began in earnest following Far Isle and the Callisto Incidents in 2494. The security forces of both corporations were overwhelmed within months. When news of the Republic nationalizing their captured assets reached the ears of the megacorporations, they threatened to pull out and sabotage anything left. The economic impact on the whole sector from this would have been disastrous. Due to the potential economic fallout and the colony's position, the CMA was finally pressed into service and fought back. While the mining corporations would stay, the corporate council was dissolved as UEG forces took a more active role in the system. The pro-UEG Government of Norton's Crossing was formed in its place.

Norton's Crossing would become a key battleground in the Eridanus theater as Secessionist Union forces began to exert more control on colonies in the Terrel and Eridanus systems. The CMA was eventually replaced with the UNSC. As the Secessionist Union collapsed in other systems and the ability for the People's Occupation to send supplies to Chi Eridani imploded, the Republic's control shrunk to mostly the deserts and desert island chains in the northern hemisphere. This was finally reduced to only the islands between 2506 and 2507 as the UNSC finally drove the Republic into the sea.

Norton's Crossing would eventually become a staging ground for operations against the rising United Liberation Front. The core group of the ULF would strike Norton's Crossing several times in an attempt to cut the UNSC off as well as wanting control of facilities in the system. While the ULF and the Republic were both enemies of the UNSC, the Republic viewed the ULF as a threat to their sovereignty. The two groups would clash several times. By the time of the near disintegration of the ULF, Norton's Crossing had seen the most battles and changed hands the most, out of any singular colony.

The Great War
The onset of the Great War saw a change in UNSC presence in the Chi Eridani system and Norton's Crossing. Unlike nearby Carrow, however, Norton's Crossing was not evacuated. A token force remained to ensure stability and keep raw materials flowing inward. The Covenant pushes through the Eridanus region between 2529-2531 would spare the colony as their routes deviated from human charted slipspace routes.

Reconciliation era
While the UNSC was pushed back considerably by the Covenant along the New Eridanus Route, a garrison of peacekeepers was sent to the planet. This was done to protect Phoenix Initiative workers properly building up the moon and possibly enforcing a new border for the UEG's possessions along the route. This coupled with the survival of nearby Carrow, saw the re-rise of autonomous sentiments. Many felt that it was the very presence of the UEG and UNSC that helped create and attract the ULF, Republic, and Covenant remnant factions to the moon. In 2564, the colony voted to leave the UEG/UNSC with a 62% majority. Fears have since doubled that the remnants of the ULF and possibly the Republic are waiting for the UEG and UNSC to leave as per the vote, before making yet another strike on the moon.

Neither of these actions would come true, though tensions remained. Threats of secession continued, spawning the economically focused Outer Eridanus Orgnization with Carrow. The threats of full succession continued until the 2580s.

Topography and climate
Norton's Crossing is composed of a mono-continent that stretches the equator of the moon, and two hemispheric oceans that cover its poles. Stretching away from this continent in both hemispheres are islands and atolls. The northern hemisphere portion of this continent is a desert with low-lying shrubbery. The oceans maintain a healthy undersea biosphere which has spawned a local fishing industry.

Governance
Several different entities have governed or claimed governance over the moon. This includes:
 * Norton's Crossing Corporate Council, a private-sector-focused body to help keep order among larger and smaller companies.
 * Republic of Norton's Crossing, a people's government that take inspiration from older colonial independence movements and participated in the larger People's Occupation.
 * Government of Norton's Crossing, originally a United Earth Government backed civilian governing body that eventually became a founding member of the Outer Eridanus Organization.
 * United Liberation Front, a militant rebel force that believes that its status as a successor to the Secessionist Union and proximity entitles it to the moon.