The Mkali Pool was one of the first Clusters explored and settled by mankind, being only two Relays from Sol. Having a lower metallicity than most Clusters and being majoritively made of older stars, the Cluster lacks many valuable resources besides its Garden Worlds. This has not stopped colonization and has led to the Cluster having a population of over a million people.
The only known Relay Connection to the Cluster is to the Arcturus Stream, though the presence of a Secondary Relay in the Berendi System suggests that another, undiscovered, Cluster resides nearby.
BERENDI:
Stars: 1 (K0)
Planets: 3 ( 2 terrestrial, 1 gaseous)
Asteroid Belts: 0
Population: 684,000
Description: A modest solar system and home to the Cluster's Primary Relay, Berendi holds the majority of the Cluster's population and is a rather popular settlement location. The system lacks much mineral wealth and is mostly important due to its Garden World, Yandoa.
Kokoto: A small rocky world slightly larger than Mars, Kokoto is lacking in metals, having a small core and mostly being made of rock. Some materials from Kokoto are used in construction on Yandoa, but there is little development on the world itself.
Jabali: A Neptune sized gas giant that exists unusually close to its star, Jabali appears to have an extremely elliptical orbit, with the planet going as close as 0.8 AU and as far as 30 AU from Berendi. The planet is currently only a few years from when it will be closest to Berendi. The size of Jabali and the radiation it emits precludes its use for gas extraction, leading to most of the System's helium-3 coming from Arcturus.
Yandoa: A large Garden World about a third more massive than Earth, Yandoa has seen respectable levels of colonization due to its early discovery and proximity to Sol. The planet contains the majority of the metals and other heavy elements in the system outside Berendi itself, something commonly exploited by mining companies. The planet's population is spread out across many settlements, of which only a dozen have populations over ten thousand. 150 thousand people, slightly less than a quarter of the planet's population, are governed by the Yandoa Federal Republic, one of the earliest extrasolar governments. A small prothean settlement was discovered on Yandoa in 2155, believed to have held a population of a few hundred thousand. Several mining operations were also discovered on the 3 moons of Yandoa.
IZANAMI:
Stars: 2 (G0, G7)
Planets: 1 ( 3 terrestrial)
Asteroid Belts: 0
Population: 355,000
Description: A star system not native to the Mkali Pool, the Izanami System is moving at high speeds for a star, and is expected to leave the Mkali Pool relatively soon on galactic timescales. Of course, that means that no human (or perhaps even humanity itself) will live to see the star leave the Cluster. Izanami is an old star, not far off from becoming a red giant. The system has relatively low metallicity, with limited heavier metals outside of Amaterasu, which is an extrasolar capture.
Susanoo: A large gas giant about four times the size of Jupiter, there is a belief among some conspiracy theorists that the Alliance discovered a massive ship in orbit of Susanoo, but hid it away before anyone else could learn of it. This theory was started due to a blurry photo that someone claimed was taken by a crewmember of the SSV Nobu Shirase, who later died in a car accident. While the photo's authenticity was disproven in 2155, the conspiracy lives on, and visitation to Susanoo remains unusually high for a world with little worth besides as a discharge point.
Tsukuyomi: A large gas giant about twice the size of Saturn, Tsukuyomi holds several gas extraction operations, and provides all the helium-3 the system needs. On one of the moons of Tsukuyomi, officially known as Tsukuyomi XVII but more commonly known as The Prothean Moon, a prothean ship was discovered in January 2157. The vessel appears to be a cargo ship, but it is filled with a large number of bodies.
Amaterasu: A large Garden World over 4 times the mass of Earth, Amaterasu is an interesting case. It is the current belief of the scientific community that Amaterasu is in extrasolar capture, but life on the world appears to have existed before the estimated capture date. The ejection of Amaterasu from its original system caused a massive extinction event, killing almost everything on the planet, but leaving some life alive, living off the geothermal vents on the seafloor. These organisms survived until the planet was captured by Izanami, and allowed life to evolve again on Amaterasu. This double evolution is not only an interesting event on its own, but it allows scientists to discover how much of evolution is affected by the natural conditions of a planet, and how much of chance, by observing both evolutions of the planet's ecosystem. Colonization has moved at a modest pace, the relatively high gravity and low wealth of the system overall hampering development. Nonetheless, Almost 350 thousand people call Amaterasu their home.