Rust Plague

"'I have been vaccinated against Cosmic Rust! I'm gonna grow healthy!' - Vaccination Sticker on Cozmata's door, Everdream: Stars Hold no Boundaries, Chapter 4 Page 1"

The Start of the Plague
The Rust Plague, Orange-Skin Illness, Cosmic Rust Pandemic, or Pandemic of 37, was an infectious fungal disease that ravaged the galaxy from 5049 A.E to 5054 A.E.

Started in the agricultural human colony of Rustania, the Rust Plague quickly spread through the galaxy. Since Rustania's main export were agricultural products, the plague spread even quicker.

Symptoms
The disease, formally named Hyperdermatitis-46 was a highly contagious fungal infection that spread through the air in the form of spores formed in the infected's throat, as well as through ingestion. It would begin with mild diarrhea and vomiting, only to escalate to an advanced form of Stasis dermatitis, which would render the infected's skin orange, making it harden and flakey, coupled with lack of sensation around the affected area. If the disease goes long enough untreated, the infected's skin will be completely covered in the "rust", and their throat will be blocked by the spore formations, depriving the lungs of air and resulting in asphyxiation. The disease adapted quickly, and affected multiple different species in similar ways.

End and Repercussions
The disease affected several worlds, infecting over 600 million beings and killing around 45 million beings by 5054 A.E. It was the biggest pandemic to ever affect the galaxy, even before the creation of the Northern Star Federation. The Federation's council along with the Empire of Etheria's senate worked together to prevent the infection, providing gas masks and goggles to their citizens to prevent spore infection, and incentivating the application of fungicide cream provided by the respective governments whenever possible.

The slowness of the Federal democracy, however, lost them valuable time and raised questions about the effectiveness of democracy when in face of a crisis. There was chaos and division both within the Federal Council and the Imperial Senate concerning the plague, and the galactic economy was deeply affected by it.

During the pandemic, the Red Sector, an enormous benevolent movement comprised of two main organisations dedicated to maintaining the well-being and health of all sentient beings in the galaxy, made full use of their resources to treat all the infected. To assist the Red Sector, the Federation created their own benevolent organization, called Federal Effort for The Health and Safety of Beings (shortened to Federal Effort). This organization would assist the Red Sector with more hands (with full Federal remuneration) and better equipment, along with advanced research into the development of a vaccine. The Federal Effort was mostly known for their Plague Researchers, who would periodically visit detention centers to gather research material and reports of the infected. The Researchers wore a full brown coat and hat, with an armband and a patch of the Federal Effort's insignia, along with a specialized gas mask. In the following years, the Effort would stay a valuable ally of the Red Sector.

Even though many Etherians perished due to the plague, a high number of Federal citizens theorized that the fungus had been created by the Etherian government, as the post-war tensions had not yet fully vanished and much resentment was still held towards the Etherians.

The vaccine was created in 5053 A.E, and it would take an year and a half to vaccinate a high enough amount of the population to be able to declare the plague over. The economical repercussions, however, would haunt the galaxy for many years to come, with recovery only effectively starting around the 5060's.

Mentions

 * The Rust Plague was mentioned in Everdream: Stars Hold no Boundaries - Chapter 4.