Primary: Naderr, spectral class
F6V. ICN S4K0307F6V. Mass 1.25 standard. Stellar diameter 1.33 standard.
Luminosity 3.04 standard.
Planetary System:
Seven major bodies. One Inhabited world (Tashrakaar, IV). Three gas giants, one
planetoid belt in system.
IV Tashrakaar:
Mean orbital radius, 204.95 million kilometers (1.37 AU). Period, 523.86 days
... Two satellites ... Diameter, 10,427 kilometers. Density, 1.03. Mass, 0.435
standard. Mean surface gravity, 0.77 G. Rotation period: 28 hours, 14 minutes,
29 seconds. Axial Inclination, 4°8'5.7" Albedo, .19 ... Surface
atmospheric pressure, 0.64atm; composition, standard oxygen-nitrogen mix,
breathable without artificial assistance. Hydrographic percentage, 5%,
composition, liquid water. Mean surface temperature, 87°C. Polar regions have a
temperature of 25° to 35°C.
Remarks:
Tashrakaar is a world encircled by a heat desert; only in the polar regions are
the sun's rays attenuated enough to allow a tropical, life bearing environment.
The equatorial regions as far north and south as 45° latitude are lifeless,
baked in temperatures which can exceed 70°C under the afternoon sun.
The tropical polar region around the Great Polar Sea does support a fairly large colony. Its primary economic basis is the collection of manganese, cobalt and other minerals elements of high purity which are uncovered on the desert surface after a devilblow - a hurricane-force storm which drives sand rather than rain. These minerals were laid down eons ago, when the central desert was the floor of a planet-wide ocean. Now they attract the interest of various mineral exploitation firms which collect the ore in great tracked rock extractors called orecrawlers. Valuable minerals are extracted from the surface of the desert as the crawlers creep slowly along and the worthless residue, called screep, is dumped astern.
The planetary government grants licenses for crawler operation to companies
interested in the mining business. A lease of Cr2,500,000 is paid to work
specific tracts of land for ore, providing the major government revenues for the
polar settlements.
Some difficulties face the colony. One of the greatest dangers is a degenerate
human culture known locally as the Duneraiders. Outcasts from the colony, the
Duneraiders live a marginal, nomadic existence at the edges of the great desert.
Duneraiders and colonists are bitter foes and colonists captured by the nomads
are frequently offered up to the desert gods in the hopes of bringing water. A
few Duneraider tribes have proved amenable to peaceful dealings, but most remain
implacably hostile.
Several Imperial corporations work the deserts of Tashrakaar, including
Sternmetal Horizons, LIC and Delgado Trading, both large megacorporations. The
naval base at Outpost (Reavers' Deep 1926) provides protection to these Imperial
companies when they request it, a recourse not available to smaller, non-Imperial
companies like Fulton Metals, Diverseco of
Tharrill (Reavers' Deep 2128) or the
ever-present representatives of Dakaar
Minerals.
For more information on Tashrakaar's mining operations, see the Gamelords'
adventure Duneraiders.