Zak'kon

Zak'kon is a batarian world in the Vorovat system. It is the site of the communications device called the Pantaphon.

Discovery
First colonized by an unknown race sometime prior to 48,000 BCE, the planet attracted the attention of the Asari Republics in 1494 CE, when the AML Tynida discovered a comms signal emanating from the planet's surface. A survey team discovered that the signal was being generated by a massive tower containing a mysterious device. For 48 years, the purpose of the device eluded researchers, until a salarian discovered that it was powerful broadcasting device capable of reaching almost any point in the known galaxy. Sometime after this revelation, project leader and chief financier Plistia T'Nair figured out how to activate and use the device, which she dubbed the Pantaphon. Shortly afterwards, she declared that the Pantaphon was too powerful to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands, and ordered most of the research team to leave, allowing only her trusted inner circle access to the research site.

Following the banishment, T'Nair grew increasingly irrational. She renamed the research site Nairida and installed herself as "Supreme Matriarch". Her behavior nearly destroyed the project, particularly after her lover (and co-financier) Ilina Dantius left in 1602 CE, and cut off her part of the funding. With the project on the verge of collapse, T'Nair's daughter Eumenia killed her and took over. Eumenia re-opened the site and invited new investors, and soon "Nairida" became a proper - and prosperous - metropolis.

Behind the scenes

 * The batarian name for the planet, Zak'kon, comes from the Russian zakonnyi, meaning "lawful", a reference to the fact that the Hegemony believes their annexation of the planet did not violate intergalactic law.