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For the mirror universe counterpart, see Risa (mirror).

PLANET

Risa
The Planet Risa

Full name:	Risian Hedony
Classification:	Class M
Location:	Epsilon Ceti system, Beta Quadrant
Moon(s):	3
Dominant Species:	Risian, Various Federates
Population:	Prior to 2381, 2.81 Billion Risans, Up to 1.3 Billion Tourists
Capital:	Nuvia
Gravity:	1.0 G

Risa is the capital planet of the Risian Hedony, a Federation Member State, homeworld of the Risian species, and a well known tourist planet in the Epsilon Ceti star system.

Risa relies on mostly automated systems to make the stay of their guests as simple and as pleasurable as possible. If those automated systems fail, the entire future of Risa would be in jeopardy. Before the introduction of automated technology, Risa, in its natural state, was a paradise. Risa, now dependent on technology, is an illusion of the paradise it once was. There are those who want to return Risa to its natural state, however, Risa had been unstable for centuries. Technology stabilizes Risa's atmospheric and meteorological state with tectonic equipment to keep it from sliding over the edge. (SCE eBook: Paradise Interrupted)

Tourism

Risa is famous throughout the Alpha and Beta Quadrants as a place of tourism and recreation, and is referred to as a "pleasure planet." It got that reputation because of its constant, stable climate, its attractive lanscapes, and most of all, its very friendly staff. (SCE eBook: Paradise Interrupted) Its native species, notorious for their open sexual mores, number approximately three billion, and the planet hosts about one billion tourists at any given time. (SCE eBook: The Future Begins)

Many resorts on Risa also house gambling casinos. (TOS novel: The Case of the Colonist's Corpse)

History

Risa was first visited by Humans and Starfleet in 2152 when the Enterprise (NX-01) arrived at the planet and several crew members took shore leave. Those crew members included Captain Jonathan Archer, Ensigns Hoshi Sato and Travis Mayweather, Commander Charles Tucker and Lieutenant Malcolm Reed. (ENT episode: "Two Days and Two Nights")

At this early date, although Risa was a warm and pleasant Class M world it still was not the lush tropical paradise that it would later become. The planet was often subject to frequent storms and its three moons created tectonic strains which made it geologically unstable. The Risian themselves were often found in small, isolated groups with limited technology and oral histories which cited how their ancestral settlements had often been destroyed by the gods. (Decipher: Worlds)

Risa was admitted into the Federation in 2249. (ST reference: Star Trek: Star Charts) It was following the planet's admittance to the Federation when it began to emerge as the premiere vacation destination for the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Towards the end of the 23rd century a man named Arlo Leyven began to envision the planet not as it was, but as it could be. Rumors persisted that Leyven was affiliated with the Orion Syndicate and that he had crashed on the planet while trying to escape the law. Later investigation confirmed these rumors, however, while he was alive, he obtained loans from the Orion Syndicate and invested them into technology that would stabilize the climate and seismic activity. (Decipher: Worlds)

In 2313, Leyven officially opened Croesus' Palace which became the planet's principle resort for decades. He was eventually killed in 2317 when he failed to pay off his debts. Regardless, in the next few years, more reputable individuals and corporations worked to further boost Risa's tourism trade. Rumors continued to persist that the Orions had a part in the planet's tourism industry through partnerships and controlling the workers' unions, but these were unsubstantiated. (Decipher: Worlds)

Over the next few decades, Risa would become a location for several dubious and noteworthy events in the Federation's history. In 2366, two Vorgans from the 27th century arrived on Risa and were searching for a device known as the Tox Uthat which was suppose to be able to stop the fusion process occuring within a star. The Vorgans approached Captain Jean-Luc Picard who was vacationing on the planet at the time and claimed that history recorded him as discovering the device on Risa. (TNG episode: "Captain's Holiday") In 2368, a Ktarian agent on Risa offered Commander William T. Riker a game, which although seemingly harmless, was intended to gain control of Starfleet. (TNG episode: "The Game")

In 2373, the New Essentialists Movement sabotaged the planet's weather control system claiming that the Federation was ill-prepared for an attack by the Dominion. The hedonism of Risa was proof of the Federation's softness. The sabotage would result in several days of inclement weather and a large number of dissatisfied tourists. (DS9 episode: "Let He Who Is Without Sin...")

In 2376, Risa was listed as the host location of a current or past marathon. (New Worlds, New Civilizations short story: "The Footfalls of Tradition")

Unfortunately, in 2381, Risa was laid to waste by the Borg attack on the Alpha Quadrant. (ST - Destiny novel: Lost Souls.) Thanks to advanced warnings about the Borg armada, many Risians and their guests managed to be evacuated in time, though the planet itself was slagged by the Borg. (TNG novel: Losing the Peace)

Geography

Suraya Bay ("Two Days and Two Nights")

Years of tectonic activity resulted in the planet's surface being fragmented into ten small continents, all about the same size, and all located around the equator. As for the climate, Risa had warm temperatures and tropical humidity tempered by mild breezes and light rains. The planet had two very small ice caps which gave it a hint of natural coldness. (Decipher: Worlds)

Oceans and Seas

• Northern Ocean
• Southern Ocean
• Sea of Partheous
• Leyven Sea

Cities and Settlements

• Nuvia - the capital city
• Hanotis Harbor
• Suraya Bay
• Temtibi Lagoon
• New Atlantis
• Sunset Acres

Points of Interest

• El Dorado Hotel and Vacation Resort
• Tolari Tower
• Malone Towers
• Catona Bluff
• Crystal Ranch
• Croesus' Palace
• Grasha's Resort
• Straight of Andre
• Montasmery Cove
• Central Weather Control
• Monagas Peninsula, one of the more popular regions on the planet. The largest resort in the Monagas Peninsula is the Sheltered Arms resort. (SCE eBook: Paradise Interrupted)

Location

Risa (also known as Epsilon Ceti B II) is the second planet in the Risan star system, orbiting the second star in an F-type trinary star system. It is in the Beta Quadrant, relatively near Mazar, Paraaga, Castor, and star FGC-983. (Reference Book: Star Trek: Star Charts) It is approximately 90 light years away from Earth. (ENT episode: "Two Days and Two Nights")

Sources differ on the exact location of Risa. SCE eBook: Paradise Interrupted has the planet situated in the Alpha Quadrant, as does Decipher: Worlds which also states that the planet is third in the Granicus binary star system near the Cardassian Union. Star Trek: Star Charts locates Risa in the Beta Quadrant although close to the boundary of the Alpha Quadrant.

Risa may be located in Sector 441, as the Star Charts show it in the same sector as the Briar patch. Although the angle is looking "down", so this may be an optical illusion caused by the 2-dimensional mapping of 3-dimensional space.