Hi there.
I am in the process of converting the storyline from the computer game Mass Effect. As I have written in another thread (That special someone?) it is a fairly straight-forward process. However, one thing I am having a little trouble with is to match the locations from Mass Effect to suitable locations in the Calixis Sector and beyond. Therefore I thought I would throw my questions out here, I know there’s a lot of people who know the 40K-universe like the back of their hand.
I’ll copy paste information from the various locations below. My thoughts so far are to match the Citadell with the Tricorn in Hive Sibellus (the Council will of course be the Conclave). It is far from a perfect match and I am not sure how to get around that the Citadell in fact is a huge relay. I've also played with the idea that "Illos" is located somewhere within the Jericho Reach. Generally locations of Mass Effect 1 will be within the Calixis Sector and the locations of Mass Effect 2 within the Koronus Expanse.
Anyways, any comments and suggestions are more than welcome.
The Citadell
The Citadel is a massive space station, constructed over 50 millennia ago in the heart of the Serpent Nebula, close to the star known as the Widow. The nexus of the galactic community, it acts as its political, cultural and financial capital, housing the Citadel Council, a powerful, multi-species governing body. The Citadel is hailed as being the greatest creation of the Protheans.
Eden Prime
This idyllic agrarian world was one of the first human colonies established beyond the Charon mass relay. Eden Prime's biosphere is unusually well-suited for importation of Earth-native life. This fertility drew heavy immigration and development by the Systems Alliance and various corporations.
Today Eden Prime is a model of sustainable, organized development. The population is housed in space-efficient arcologies that tower over thousands of kilometers of green fields and orchards.
Eden Prime is a human colony founded on the borders of the Terminus Systems. Known for its pristine, Earth-like greenery and suitability for sustaining life, it has become a kind of symbol for humanity's ability to create functioning colonies in an interstellar community. Eden Prime is known for being a beautiful paradise for all species. Most long time colonists are in the agriculture business.
Noveria
Noveria is a small, frozen terrestrial world, barely habitable by conventional definitions. It is privately chartered by the Noveria Development Corporation, who lease out labs to perform research too dangerous or controversial to be performed elsewhere. Given Noveria's unique situation, it is the source of many wild conspiracy theories.
Noveria is a snowy, rocky world, with most of its hydrosphere locked up in massive glaciers. A privately-chartered colony world, the planet is owned by Noveria Development Corporation holding company. The NDC is funded by investment capital from two dozen high technology development firms, and administrated by an Executive Board representing their interests.
The investors built remote hot labs in isolated locations across Noveria's surface. These facilities are used for research too dangerous or controversial to be performed elsewhere, as Noveria is technically not part of Citadel space and therefore exempt from Council law.
By special arrangement, Citadel Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance agents have been granted extraterritorial privileges, but it remains to be seen how committed the Executive Board is to that principle. Given its unique situation, it is understandable that Noveria is often implicated in all manner of wild conspiracy theories.
Feros
The ExoGeni Corporation has founded a pilot colony on Feros to explore the Prothean ruins that blanket two-thirds of the planet's land mass. The atmosphere is fouled with dust. Terrestrial travel is hampered by crumbled debris dozens of meters deep. There are indications that Feros was a much colder world in the past. Feros has two large moons, Orcan (the farther) and Vardet.
Feros is a habitable world in the Attican Beta cluster. Two-thirds of the habitable surface is covered with the ruins of crumbling Prothean megalopolis. In the millennia since the Prothean extinction, the ruins have been picked over by looters many times. Feros was considered a poor prospect for colonization, as little open ground remains for agriculture. The only sizable fresh water sources are the poles, which are tapped by the decaying Prothean aqueduct system. The dead cities, while in good condition considering their antiquity, are of uncertain stability. Ground level is congested by a dozen meters of fallen debris, and the air is fouled by dust.
In 2178, the human ExoGeni Corporation announced its intention to place a permanent colony on Feros, to thoroughly explore the ruins. The pioneer settlement was placed on the upper levels of the several intact skyscrapers, using the surviving Prothean aqueducts and rooftop hydroponics gardens to support the population.
Virmire
Virmire is a lush frontier world, ideal for colonization by carbon-based species. Its vast seas and orbital position on the inner life zone have created a wide equatorial band of humid, tropical terrain. Unfortunately, the political instability of the nearby Terminus Systems has impeded colonization efforts — the high risk of raids by pirates and slavers makes it an unappealing homestead.
Virmire is a lush world located on the frontier of the Attican Traverse. Its vast seas and orbital position on the inner life zone have created a wide equatorial band of humid, tropical terrain. Only the political instability of the region has impeded efforts at colonization.
Many times, the Citadel has opened negotiations to settle Virmire with the various criminal gangs and petty dictatorships in the nearby Terminus Systems. All fell apart due to internal power shifts within the opposing parties. The Citadel has written off the colonization of Virmire as impossible without significant political change.
The Terminus powers themselves are unlikely to ever settle Virmire. Most lack the resources to support settlement of a virgin world, finding it more expedient to steal from their neighbors than build for themselves.
Illos
In the golden age of the Protheans, Ilos was a verdant world, dotted with the spires and arches of magnificent cities. Even casual observation shows this is no longer the case. Ilos has been devastated by means unknown, its entire surface changed to the color of rust. The atmosphere shows heightened levels of oxygen. Wildfires, presumably ignited by lightning strikes, can be seen burning on the dark side. This indicates that most –— if not all — respiring animal life forms have died off.
Like the ancient human city of Troy, Ilos is a world known only through second-hand sources. References to Ilos have been found at several other Prothean ruins, though direct study of the world is unlikely to occur.
Ilos lies in a remote area of the Terminus Systems only accessible by the legendary Mu Relay. Four thousand years ago, the Mu Relay was knocked out of position by a supernova and lost. Since then, Ilos and its cluster have been inaccessible.
Occasionally, a university will organize an expedition to chart a route to Ilos using conventional FTL drive. These never get beyond the planning stages due to the distance and danger. The journey could take years or decades, passing through the hostile Terminus Systems and dozens of unexplored systems.