Outer Reach

From Star Frontiers Network

Colonizers:	* (A mixture of all races)
Population:	Medium, Industry, Resources
Climate Range:	cold to frigid; very dry
Average Surface Temp.:	-4 degrees C
Atmopshere:	77% nitrogen, 15% oxygen, 8% inert gasses
Gravity:	1.0
Diameter:	13,045 km
Moons:	5
Length of Day:	35 hours
Artificial Satellites:	Armed Space Station Rest and Relaxation Station

Contents 1 Moons 2 Description 2.1 Physical and Geographical Aspects 2.2 Political and Cultural Aspects 3 Sources

Moons

1. Diamond - sliver, completes orbit in 33 days, holds several colonies and research stations;
2. Shadow - brown, completes orbit in 60 days
3. Three Sisters - red, three moons whose orbits intertwine, moons complete orbit in 18 days

Note: Zebulon's Guide only lists four moons with every different names:

1. Kard - Resources
2. Tars - Resources
3. Etric
4. Tolk

Description

Outer Reach is a gathering place for criminals and outlaws of all types. People there do not ask strangers how they earn their livings.

Physical and Geographical Aspects

Outer Reach is cold and inhospitable. The planet's original settler's were drawn by the lure of mineral wealth locked within the planet's rocky shell. Uranium, gold, and aluminum are just a few of the elements that have been extracted from Outer Reach by the millions of tons since they were first discovered.

The severe environment on Outer Reach has prevented the development of any native life forms--plant or animal. Although the atmosphere contains breathable amounts of oxygen, the scarcity of water undoubtedly precluded any natural evolution.

Barren rock fields and harsh, craggy mountains cover much of the planet's surface. Chains of volcanos lace the lands, many of them constantly spouting masses of smoke and lava. The planet presents a bizarre picture from space: mile-wide streams of molten rock trace fiery paths through the landscape.

Political and Cultural Aspects

Outer Reach is known throughout the Frontier as home for gangsters, pirates, cheap thugs, and other interstellar scum. This reputation is richly deserved.

The mines are playing out, so now the planet's main source of income is the production of weapons and simple robots. Although not famed for quality, the products of Outer Reach can be purchased anywhere in the Frontier -- if you have the right connections. AccordIng to some estimates, illegal gains through smuggling act1vities represent fully 50% of the planet's income.

The population numbers only 20 million. Most of these individuals - immigrants and their descendents - live in large, climate-controlled cities that draw energy from geothermal sources. In fact, the chief advantage of manufacturing on Outer Reach is the almost free energy that can be obtained from these underground sources.

Outer Reach was originally settled by freethinking individualists drawn by the planet's mineral resources. As these resources began to diminish, competition for unclaimed territories became intense, and a "might makes right" philosophy evolved. A number of small kingdoms and dictatorships battled each other for decades, until finally, the Styrigian nation emerged as the supreme power.

After the warring ended, a fierce rivalry continued between the Styrigians and their closest contender for power: the Maltharian Confederation. Finally, the two forces worked out a unique compromise. The Styrigians gained control of the planet's surface, and the Maltharians took control of the space stations orbiting Outer Reach. The two governments have cooperated peacefully. Both the planetary and extra-planetary governments are dictatorships. The Maltharians are ruled by a Dralasite called the Malthar.

Several space stations orbit Outer Reach, holding a prime position on Frontier trade routes. Pinnacle Station, the largest, is heavily armed and represents a major breastwork in the UPF plan for Frontier defense. Darkworld Station is the headquarters of the Malthar) it is also rumored to shelter the "home offices" of his massive crime syndicate, which has tentacles reaching to the farthest corners of the Frontier.

In recent years, the discovery of Ixiol has greatly increased the Malthar's profit margins. This drug is readily available on Ouler Reach, selling at a "street price" of 100 credits per pill. The drug produces a long-lasting euphoria, but it is highly addictive) an Ixiol habit debilitates and eventually kills its victim. How the Malthar produces the drug, however, remains a mystery.

Active secret police forces both in space and on the planet's surface quickly stomp out any dissident behavior. Generous bribes must be offered at every level of the bureaucracy before any kind of action is possible.

Outer Reach has a small, highly trained fleet of militia ships, and the Malthar can easily muster a good number of pirate vessels as allies. Because of this combination, the planet possesses the deadliest starship attack force of any single planet in the Frontier. Fortunately for peace-loving peoples, the criminal world has not been able to prevent the UPF Spacefleet from coming to the aid of some of'the criminals potential victims.

Sources

• Alpha Dawn Expanded Rules
• SFKH1: Dramune Run
• Zebulon's Guide to Frontier Space vol 1