Melekan was the original homeworld of the Gelt species, a once Earthlike planet consumed by a cascade of catastrophes. Already beset by global wars, plague, and societal collapse, the final blow came from a rogue scientific experiment: an attempt to harness pulsar material for instantaneous interstellar travel. When physicist Yandal’s project breached containment, a plasma reaction swept across the planet, reducing Melekan’s surface to ashes within hours.
Simultaneously, secondary disasters amplified the destruction. A genetically modified bacterial strain designed to deliver suicide toxins escaped containment, unleashing a deadly, fast-moving plague. Chemical leaks from shattered industrial sites likely caused widespread genetic damage among surviving Gelt, while multiple nuclear facilities melted down amid the chaos. Together, these events rendered the planet permanently toxic.
By 430 IE, when Marcus Leitman visited Melekan, he found it a scorched, poisonous hellscape requiring EVA suits for survival. The atmosphere had become so hazardous that, during a visit by the CNV Endeavour nine years later, extreme biosecurity measures were necessary to prevent contamination of Gelt passengers.
Melekan remains a shattered symbol of the Gelt’s self-inflicted near-extinction, fueling both their Diaspora and the founding mythos of the Realm.
Appearances: “Torch the Sky, Storming Amargosa, Davra's Endeavour