System Datafile:
System: Etuc
Star: Etuc (yellow)
Orbital Bodies:
Name
Type
Moons
Dol Cuadar Barren terrestrial
0
Dran Colquar warm
terrestrial 2
Corc Strendar hostile terrestrial
5
Fen Domar gas giant
15
Capsule: The Etuc system is the centre of the Paq Nalthiin Confederacy. Dran Colquar is the only habitable planet in the system. Dol Cuadar was once moderately rich in mineral resources, but most of this wealth has been mined out of the planet over the centuries by the Paq Nalthiin. Corc Strendar is now the primary mining centre in the system, despite the frequent volcanic activity caused by the gravometric pressures of the planet's moons. 3 of the moons of Fen Domar have also been mined in the past, but none of the gas giant's moons are still viable sources of minerals. Fen Domar itself is commercially useless.
Dran Colquar
Type: warm terrestrial
Temperature: hot
Atmosphere: Type I
Hydrosphere: arid
Gravity: standard
Terrain: deserts, clay flats, badlands
Length of day: 29 standard hours
Length of year: 276 local days
Sapient species: Paq Nalthiin (N), some humans
Starport: standard
Population: 2.7 billion
Planet function: homeworld, industrial
Government: Confederacy
Tech level: space
Major exports: manufactured goods, franium
Major Imports: foodstuffs, raw materials
Capsule: The Paq Nalthiin homeworld, Dran Colquar in the Etuc
system, is largely a desert world, with a few large lakes, but no bodies
of water that could truly be called oceans or even seas. The Paq Nalthiin
civilisation sprung up around the lakes, and the few rivers that criss-cross
the dry planet. The largest lake on the planet, known as Delduara or Life
Mother, is the home to 4 of the largest settlements on Dran Colquar: the
cities Krenliin, Granshiin, Joudriin, and Vapfiin. Krenliin is the capital
city of the planet, as well as the capital of the Paq Nalthiin Confederacy.
Although the Confederacy is actually a part of the Empire, it is considered
a self-contained area, sort of a sub-sector which is still under control
of the Moff of Conheav sector, but sort of an intermediate organizational
level between the planetary and sector level, and as such it has a capital
city. Really the Confederacy isn't officially recognized as a cohesive
political entity, but in actual practice it functions as such, and Moff
Lesbeat has on occasion found it useful to have another layer of bureaucracy
that he can involve in his myriad plots and double-dealings.
The terrain around Delduara is very rugged,
even for Dran Colquar, with many cliffs and other rock formations, which
have been formed over the millenia by water flowing into and out of the
lake. These types of rock formations are typical of most of the inhabited
areas of the planet, as these areas are invariably the few areas where
water can be found, and it is the water that creates the formations. Rock
formations can also be found in areas of the planet devoid of water, but
these have typically been formed by the wind rather than by the water.
This means that the entire planet is more or less covered with spectacular
rock formations, but that those in the more civilised areas of the planet
tend to be even more spectacular as they have been worked both by the wind
and by the water. The polar regions of Dran Colquar are cold in the extreme,
but largely devoid of snow and ice due to two factors. First of all there
is little enough moisture in the atmosphere of the planet to begin with,
and therefore the ice deposits at the poles have always been small when
compared to most habitable planets. The second factor is that the Paq Nalthiin
have established ice mining bases at the poles, and these bases process
about 45% of the snow and ice that collects at the poles, shipping the
cleansed water through massive pipelines to the inhabited areas, especially
those settlements which have sprung up around small lakes and streams,
and which find themselves in need of importing extra water. Even those
settlements which have ample water supplies of their own tend to import
at least some polar water, as this water is considered to be the purest
on the planet. Whether this is actually true is largely irrelevant as the
populace is quite willing to pay the extra to obtain this water from the
poles. There are currently 3 companies which have substantial ice mining
operations: Ranklok Water, Qualdar Hydro, and Ganshil Water and Communications
Inc. These companies are the only ones with access to their own massive
pipelines, and they sublet use of some of these pipelines to smaller companies.
The water giants are among the most influential companies on Dran Colquar.
The biggest exports from Dran Colquar are manufactured
goods, and a red ore known as Frainium. Franium is a naturally occuring
ore which contains traces of iron, aluminium, lead, and uranium. The concentrations
of these elements, and the manner in which they are bonded together, a
strange crystaline bond which is extraordinarily difficult to synthesise,
give this ore some useful qualities. Franium can make a very effective
radiation shield, and is often used to shield certain components of reactors,
although there are a number of other substances that can also be used for
this purpose. The relative wealth that this material brought Dran Colquar
when the Paq Nalthiin joined the galactic community was used to bolster
the industries of the planet, which were already the most developed in
the Paq Nalthiin Confederacy.
Dran Colquar is the cultural centre of the
Confederacy, and is also the most cosmopolitan Paq Nalthiin world. Most
of the settlements are fully modern cities that incorporate some architecture
that may be up to 5,000 years old. A perfect example of this can be found
in the city of Gomiariin on Lake Fal, where the university is a very modern
facility, but the faculty of history is housed in a modern building that
incorporates an ancient fortress made of baked clay. In many ways this
sums up the Paq Nalthiin psyche. To them something isn't necessarily better
just because it is newer. Often a more traditional solution is preferred,
unless the other option is radically better. The population of Dran Colquar
is as large as can be supported by the limited supply of fresh water, and
significantly larger than can be supported by local food production. Because
of this food must be imported to supplement the traditional diet of Mmirt
meat and Zrianis plants. Energy on Dran Colquar is very cheap by most standards,
as there are a number of solar energy and wind-powered plants in the vast
deserts of the planet. These massive solar farms and wind farms are subsidised
by the Confederacy in order to promote plentiful energy for industry.
Despite all of these developed areas, there are
still huge tracts of wilderness covering most of the planet. Much of this
is either mud flats or shifting sands.There is a radical sect of Paq Nalthiin
fundamentalists who still live as nomads in these wilderness areas. These
"Jandcolthiin Brindai," or "true tribesmen," avoid all other Paq Nalthiin.
Occasionally a "civilized" Paq Nalthiin will wander into the deserts in
the hopes of joining the Jandcolthiin Brindai. Sometimes such a Paq Nalthiin
will have to make the journey from another planet to join the Legends
tell that the Jandcolthiin Brindai can see what is in the hearts of these
seekers, and that they will find any who are sincere in their goals before
they die, and bring them into their tribes. Officially the Confederacy
views the Jandcolthiin Brindai as backwards fanatics, but most Paq Nalthiin,
including those in power, harbor a great deal of sympathetic feelings for
these fundamentalists. Deep down almost all Paq Nalthiin feel that they
could embrace the ideals of the Jandcolthiin Brindai, but that if they
were to do so they could easily be taken advantage of by off-worlders.
Almost any Paq Nalthiin will do whatever he or she can to protect the Jandcolthiin
Brindai from those who wish to interfere with them.