Meridian

Meridian is a habitable moon of the fifth planet of the Hestia system. It was colonized by Humanity in 2405, abandoned in 2552, and then re-colonized in 2563. Meridian is in a unique geological period, which -along with the presence of well-preserved Forerunner ruins- gives the planet immense scientific value.

Geography
Meridian is dominated by vast oceans with scattered land masses and many archipelagos, as well as small ice caps. The world has few large land fauna, with most of its creatures being made up of marine animals and amphibians. Meridian's archipelagos and small continents are dominated by early plant life, fungi and shallow rooted forests. Inland regions are generally dry brushlands and semi-deserts. Due to tidal interactions with Hestia V, Meridian is tectonically active and experiences both active continental drift and volcanism.

Varieties of chalcedonic quartz are very common on Meridian. The moon is also home to deposits of industrially significant silicate minerals, including various exotic zeolites, as well as naturally-occurring silicon carbide, something uncommon on terrestrial worlds in such quantities. However, its export was not deemed economically viable until the Human-Covenant War.

Orbital characteristics
Due to its orbit around Hestia V and the system's binary star, Meridian's day-night cycle is decidedly non-earthlike. Though tidally locked to Hestia V, Meridian's orbit around the gas giant exhibits a 3:2 orbital resonance; the moon completes three rotations around its own axis for every two orbits around Hestia V. Its orbit is inclined relative to Hestia V's axis and somewhat eccentric, with noticeable variance in its proximity to the gas giant; at periapsis, tidal effects are at their highest. Meridian's own axis is also slightly tilted, giving it some seasonal differences.

Hestia V orbits Hestia, the primary component of the system of the same name. The second star, Demeter, is smaller and periodically provides additional light to Meridian when its orbit brings it close to Hestia V, though it is still distant enough to not have very significant interactions with the gas giant and its moons.

Discovery and Colonization
First charted in 2388, with much glee from the scientific community, Meridian was selected for settlement in 2396 by the Colonial Administration Authority, with the first settlers arriving in 2405. The human-compatible ecology made the planet a prime candidate for colonization despite otherwise being unremarkable. Meridian at its discovery by Humanity was in the Earth-equivalent of the early Devonian period.

Locations chosen for early settlement were along the coast due to their more stable climate. The first mining settlements were concentrated inland. Over the decades of its initial colonization, Meridian's primary exports were exotic biota, phosphate, rare silicate minerals and tourism.

Early Tensions
The first political divisions emerged between the Prospectors and the Stewards. The Prospectors were made up of Meridian's various mining firms and guilds who desired to exploit the planet's large phosphate reserves and develop an agriculture-based industry. The Stewards were supported primarily by the scientific community who wanted to conserve the planet's unique biodiversity, focusing on establishing Meridian as bastion of scientific research. For most of its history, Meridian was not capable of sustaining itself and thus relied on imports of foodstuffs and other necessities. The want for self-sufficiency saw the Prospectors win over the populace, as their economic plans projected that Meridian could be a net agricultural exporter in only a few decades. By the 2490s, Meridian was the fourth fastest developing industrial hubs in the Outer Colonies.

UNSC and the Forerunners
CMA authority over Meridian in its early years was lax, however the rise of the moon as a developing industrial powerhouse saw the CMA take a heavy-handed interest in the world. The CMA's corruption and top-heaviness saw Meridian become one of many worlds with growing Insurrectionist sentiments, however as one might not have expected, the UNSC's eventual takeover of Meridian was entirely unrelated to the CMA or the Insurrection.

The discovery of an unknown alien installation by miners in 2500 drew the immediate attention of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the UEG, prompting swift handover of the colony to the UNSC. ONI secured the installation, known as 'Meridian Xeno Site Alpha'. It was not until the Halo event of 2552 did Alpha Site become associated with the Forerunner civilization.

Alpha Site was hidden by baffler technology in the center of a small inland sea. The miners had not discovered the site itself, but rather what is believed to be a forward security station. Once secured by ONI and the UNSC, it was discovered that the security station itself was capable of deactivating the baffler, revealing a 12km long, and 5km wide alien city-like structure at the center of the sea.

In the fifty-two years between its discovery and Meridian's eventual fall, ONI gained very little in the way of knowledge or insight into the purpose of the structure, or any of its underlying technologies or history. The vastness of the site's interiors also meant that it was mostly unexplored. Theories posited by researchers were that of it being a great library, necropolis or university, based on its monolithic and memorial nature.

Alpha Site however became a mere sideshow after the UNSC's take over. Meridian became a true early economic power when the military industrial complex made itself at home with companies like Chalybs Defense Solutions established several facilities on the small moon. By 2528, Meridian was part of the UNSC's industrial core and a critical world in humanity's fight against the alien Covenant.

Post-War
The glassing during the war destabilized the climate and biosphere of the world. Efforts by the Phoenix Initiative with the help of Concord terraformers solved this crisis by the early 2560s. From 2568 onwards, human refugees would slowly trickle in to resettle the battered world. Sangheili scholars intent on studying the Forerunner ruins seemingly took more interest in the world than humans did. Collaboration between the Sangheili and the human scientific community further improved the working relationship between the two polities.