$W{ VEGA
From the Encyclopedia Galactica (Ising University of Antares ed., January 2399) $}

STELLAR CLASS: A0Va
MASS: 2.5 Solar masses
PLANETS: 4
INHABITED: 1 (Mizrach)
OTHER MAJOR SETTLEMENTS: None
NODE CONNECTIONS (2398): Deneb, Beta Aquilae, Ribos (unstable), Antares (unstable), Capella (sealed in 2367)

GOVERNMENT TYPE: Parliamentary
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT (2399): Prime Minister Mendel Okoshi
POPULATION: 2,001,223,037 (2399 Census)
LANGUAGES: Japanese (official), Hebrew (official), English

SETTLED: 2320-12-3

Vega is the second most populated of the Terran colonies. Vega III, or Mizrach ('East' in Hebrew), is the sole populated planet in Vega.  A cold but fertile world, Mizrach was initially settled on the eve of the Vasudan War.  Far from the front lines, the planet's population grew rapidly through the War, mostly from natural increase.  The original settlers were Zen-Lubavich Jews and Japanese Neo-Buddhists from the Far Eastern Republic, who planned to develop a commercial hub using Vega's node connections.  They succeeded.  Mizrach was a beacon of stability during Reconstruction (2335-2367), drawing immigrants from all over the colonies.  When the Neo-Terran Front revolted, its strategic location made it a natural logistical center for the offensives against the NTF.  

Vega's society retains strong cultural influences from its original settlers.  The populace places great value on family, education and the needs of the group rather than the individual.  While Mizrach culturally assimilated the immigrants of the Reconstruction Era, the planet has had significantly more difficulty integrating the individualistic, freewheeling refugees of Capella, who today make up Mizrach's largest ethnic minority.  The planetary government has put enormous effort into assimilating immigrants into Judaeo-Japanese culture using a mix of carrots and sticks.  It remains to be seen whether this project will truly take hold. Whilst a majority of Capellans have learned Japanese, Hebrew or both, few have chosen to take up Mizrachi nationality. Even today, they effectively remain stateless.  Sociologists attribute refugees' reluctance to assimilate to the circumstances of their arrival.  Unlike the migrants of Reconstruction, most Capellans arrived with only the clothes on their backs, with nowhere else to go.  

Making matters worse, Mizrach received too many people for its infrastructure to handle. Everything from sewers to transport to schools was simply insufficient to handle the influx. Shantytowns at the edges of major cities sprung up virtually overnight.  Even 30 years later, with the General Terran Assembly encouraging emigration to systems like Barnard and Ross 128, many Capellans remain in informal settlements at the urban peripheries of cities like Yaesu, Ramat Atarah, and Kiryat William. Organized crime runs rampant in these areas, with organizations like the Kyosei-kai, Capello Nero, and Ramat Gang turning these areas into no-go zones for local law enforcement. Projections by the General Terran Assembly indicate that another two decades of improvements remain to bring these areas up to modern standards.

The destruction of Capella in 2367 also transformed what was once a mostly-commercial system into a fortress. The sealed node to Capella is one of the most heavily-defended points in known space.  Multiple FIREWATCH battlegroups are stationed in Mizrach's orbit on Jump Five status, ready to engage anything that might come through the destroyed node.