Ao Xian
Everyone Forgets the Tail Flick
Littora IV
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: To create a planet for exploration and expansion by the Sith Empire.
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Canon: N/A
Links: N/A
Creation Credits: Made with [member="Jairus Starvald"]
GENERAL INFORMATION
Planet Name: Littora IV
Demonym: Littorian
Region: Outer Rim
System Name: Littora System
System Features: The central star in the Littora system is a Wolf-Rayet class star- shedding the majority of its light in the UV spectrum, leaving much of the system in perpetual twilight. A total of five rocky, mineral rich, ferrous-cored planets inhabit the inner portion of the system. Only the fourth occupies the habitable zone around the star, and only the fourth and fifth have water- IV in liquid form, V as ice on an otherwise uninhabitable world. Littora V’s frozen water sublimates directly into space; the planet is too small and light to support an atmosphere in the face of the heavy solar winds caused by the nature of the Wolf-Rayet star. Littora IV has one large, rocky moon, Haliae, only tenuously bound by planetary gravity and exerting a significant pull of its own that shapes the planet itself. The rotational period of Littora IV is 95.6 days. It’s orbital period is 478 days.
Coordinates: AH-13 - above and slightly to the right of Raekkar
Major Imports: Luxuries, exotic goods/foods, electronic components, wood
Major Exports: Thoranium and Quadrenium (mined on Littora I) Alantium and Durelium (mined on Littora II), Ostrine (mined on Littora III), Hibridium (mined on Haliae), Borium (mined on Littora V), Aquatic Technologies, Mining Technologies, Local Art, Sea Salt
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
Gravity: .8 Standard
Climate: Cool Temperate
Primary Terrain: Shallow “Walking” Seas and Tidal “Flats”
Other Noteworthy Features: Because most of light from the system’s star is shed in the ultraviolet instead of the visible spectrum, Littora exists in an almost perpetual dusk- slightly brighter during the ‘day’, even the night is never dark- the size of the moon allows it to reflect enough light that it’s only a slightly deeper twilight, rather than full night.
The Tidal Cycle is 48.7 days- this is how long the seas take to complete their ‘walk’ around the planet, following the orbital period of the planet’s moon, Haliae, with each tidal cycle occupying half of Littora’s rotation. There are ten cycles each year, with the tenth cycle ending where the first cycle began.
Major Locations:
Walking Seas: Technically only one, the Walking Seas are a shallow ocean that covers around sixty percent of the planetary surface. No deeper than 300m at any point, the strong gravitational pull of the large moon, Haliae, exerts a constant tidal pressure. The waters follow the moon around Littora IV, “Walking” across the surface, leaving behind tidal flats that are not permanent, but occur in predictable patterns based on the orbital passage of the moon. The moon is always visible over the Walking Seas with the exception of the meandering coasts and the rougher waters that border them. The central portions of the Walking Seas are relatively calm, allowing for floating cities to exist without enormous risk to their inhabitants. The outer edges, the coastal region is far more tumultuous, and most people avoid the parts of the planet’s surface where the seas meet the lands for more than just the rough waters.
Tidal Flats: While there are no permanent continents on Littora IV, the Tidal Flats appear cyclically as the planet’s moon pulls the shallow seas along its passage on the opposite side of the world- it is impossible to ever see the moon from the Tidal Flats, it will always be on the opposite side of the planet. Occupying around forty percent of the planet’s surface, the Tidal ‘Flats’ are actually fairly geologically diverse. Plains, large hills, cliffs, canyons, all exposed for a short time before the waters come marching back with Haliae’s continued arc around the planet. Due to the constant return of the waters and the instability of the substrata (due to active tectonics also fed by the gravitational pull of the large moon), the Tidal Flats are unsuitable for building on, and all ‘permanent’ structures are limited to floating locales on the seas.
The Intertidal Zones: The coastlines, like the seas and lands, are ever shifting, following the pull of the moon. They are the most dangerous areas on Littora, despite their clinical label. To an outsider, the most obvious threat would be the high waves and unstable currents, making the waters and immediate shoreline perilous to navigate. To those familiar with the perils of these areas however, the most dangerous aspect lies in the fauna. The most dangerous animals of Littora don’t exist in the depths of the ocean, they lurk right at the shore. This is the place where beings are most vulnerable, caught between the land and the sea, and several predatory species call these moving zones their home, preying on animals caught on the wrong side of the waves.
Farshore: While there is no single Capital city, Farshore in the largest and most impressive. A floating city, it maintains its position in the center-most parts of the Walking Seas for safety and stability. High wealth, high tech, it is the central hub for culture and trade on the Walking Seas, as well as home to several of the mining companies that own mineral claims throughout the system. Rather than operate separate floating cities, these corporations chose to work together for the improvement of them all. It has allowed for greater diversity and friendly competition that in turn elevates the working class- well paid, with good benefits and perks, they funnel their money back into the system, creating a feedback loop that has allowed the arts to proliferate here in a fashion that could not be supported in other, single corporation cities.
The Floating Boat City- Difficult to call it a city perse, a clan of itinerant Rodians settled on Littora ten years back- never really integrating with the Corporate focused cities as a whole (though some do live and work in them), they live a more nomadic lifestyle on the fringes. Maximum freedoms, open waters, the Rodians travel between the floating cities and the dangerous Intertidal zones. Like any coastal edge, the detris of the Walking Seas wash up here, everything from lost mining equipment to broken corals used in local art, from starship crashes to the skeletons of great beasts. Scavengers and tinkerers, they brave the Intertidal zones and the creatures that live there, selling their wares back to the Floating Cities. While the group started as purely Rodian, individuals of other species have joined them and been welcome, drawn by the pure freedom, the sense of adventure, or merely by a desire to travel and wander.
POPULATION
Native Species: No sentient native species. Semi and Non-sentient native species are primarily amphibious to one degree or another, requiring those adaptive abilities. Very few species are incapable of surviving on both land and sea, though most are specialized to one or the other- a few noteworthy creatures (see below) evolved specifically to thrive in the dangerous coastal zones. All plantlife is entirely amphibious, able to survive both completely submerged as well as periods of drought. Species that evolved on Littora can see into the UV spectrum due to the nature of the system’s star.
Floodflower Worms
Not all denizens of this earth are mobile and some native fauna, much like the flora, has opted to simply weather out the long droughts between the passings of the walking ocean. Perhaps the most numerous species of these dormant inhabitants are the Floodflower Worms. Their bodies are long and limbless with a thick bulk at the bottom end, and range from as small as five centimeters long all the way up to five meters. Depending on the water-cycle, their bodies will be dry and grey or fat and pink; their mouths are circular, four petal-like flaps filled with long, pointed teeth for grabbing and swallowing prey. Floodflower Worms burrow into the earth, forming a tunnel to the surface and a deep pit in which they hibernate through the dry periods. They keep a water reservoir in one of their many connected stomachs, allowing them to track the movement of the walking ocean and accurately predict when it is coming. When the next tide finally approaches, the worms will burrow up from their nests and open their mouths wide to catch all the water and food they can in their toothy maws. This phenomenon, as well as their plantlike appearance, has given rise to their traditional name. The worms and their flowering is a highly accurate way of predicting an incoming tide for those not familiar with the planetary cycles. The worms feed off anything that comes within their grasp- while they are perfectly content to scavenge dead flesh, they with actively turn toward movement, seeking out living prey. When the ocean has passed and the drought sets in, the worms are swollen and pink as they slip back into their dark nests to sleep. But be wary, anywhere the mud is wet, there may be a Floodflower Worm and it may still be waiting for unwary prey.
Tidal Flowers
Actual flora, Tidal Flowers are just one of the plants of Littora that can survive both total submersion and the potential for extended drought once the seas recede. Growing strictly vegetatively while beneath the water, they can grow in strands up to ten meters long- graceful and flowing with the current, they resemble a number of other types of seaweeds on multiple worlds. The strands are left flat against the ground however once the water recedes, and the plants are easy to miss at first. Each node of the plant in contact with the ground however roots, sending up a new shoot within 7-10 days. Growing only a few inches tall when terrestrial, the shoots bud and blossom halfway through the dry period- pollinated by the wind, these tiny coral coloured blossoms cover swathes of the tidal flats for about a week before setting seed and fading again. The seeds fall just after the waters return, washing to new locations with the currents as the flowering shoots start to grow again to their full height beneath the waves.
Protea/Sun Jellies
Protea are semi-sentient, shape shifting monsters that inhabit the Intertidal zone. More than anything else, they are what make this area of Littora so dangerous, and why most people avoid the place where the land and sea meet (with the exception of the Boat People, who are largely considered brave but crazy by other Littorians). While their natural shape resembles most closely an enormous, tentacle-less jelly fish (when seen in the open ocean they are called Sun Jellies and considered harmless), the people of Littora have not made the connection between the Sun Jellies and the highly variable monsters that roam the Intertidal Zone. No in depth study of the creatures has been done, and the assumption that they are indeed different animals is a fair one. Protea are strictly carnivorous- filter feeding zooplankton as Sun Jellies, while actively hunting prey when they have taken form and haunt the coasts- though they are not above scavenging dead flesh. While amphibious like most things, they cannot leave the water for long, and will wait in the surf to ambush the unwary from the water’s edge. The need for greater concentration of nutrients in quantity is required for their reproductive cycle, needing the higher caloric intake from larger creatures before the Protea can travel to their spawning grounds to breed.
Other notable species: Ruffled Sea Dragons | Giant Amber-Egg Turtle | Giant Glass Crabs | Armored King Shrimp | Reef Back Frog | Sun Sailer Whale |
Immigrated Species: Humans, Quarrens, Aqualish, Rodian
Population: Sparsely Populated
Demographics: A fairly even mix of races, though more aquatic leaning species tend to slightly outnumber other, more terrestrial species.
Primary Languages: Galactic Standard Basic
Culture: Work hard and you’ll get there. This is the general gist of a Littoran, no matter what species you belong to, no matter what history you had before settling on one of the city-platforms. All that gets wiped away with the registration of your Corporate ID and everyone is expected to keep it that way, as it’s considered faux-pas to ask about anyone’s past without prompt.
The Littorians work hard, complain little and have immense pride in the businesses they work at. Mostly because with the registration of a Corporate ID, they become minority shareholders themselves, it's more than just a paycheck. This gives them a vote and a say. It’s not a surprise, then, that many of the floating cities are home to strong unions of workers banding together to make their vote count the most.
These platforms are the most successful and thrive.
Once a work-day is over the common Littorian has a few things that may occupy the remaining time of their day. Living in a contained city, alone time is rare, but valued- finding the balance between the needs of the communal and the needs of the individual are paramount.
They might choose to spend it with their family or other loved ones - family is considered very important on the world, deeply ingrained loyalty to those closest to them, though family may not always look the same as it does on other worlds. There is an emphasis on the chosen family, rather than the heredity one, and it is not uncommon to find unconventional familial arrangements nestled quite comfortably next to the neighboring nuclear one.
Others might decide to participate in sports, music, or creating/viewing art. Artistic, musical and poetic exhibitions are common, and many people consider themselves to ‘dabble’ in such affairs.
There are clubs and bars at many of the city-platforms. Though more often than not they do not allow the purchase of alcoholic beverages over a certain percentage. Abuse is a known quantity in the less well-run platforms and eagerly avoided. This does mean there are elements that have taken it upon themselves to supply this simmering demand.
One of the most important cultural and tourist events is the twice yearly passage of the center of the Walking Seas over the North and South poles. The Aurora Festival is a week long carnival- it coincides with many companies shutting down for at least part of it (or offering alternating halves off to all employees). While the poles are not frozen, they are significantly colder than other parts of the planet, and the festival is focused on hot foods from seasonal street vendor carts, open air textile and clothing markets featuring the best of the local fashions (with a special eye on cold weather styles), dance and (usually) moderate drinking (a traditional beverage made from warm mulled wine with a sprinkle of sea salt can be bought at almost any corner). The festival culminates on the seventh ‘night’ where viewing glasses are made available to see the Ultraviolet light shows in the atmosphere. While native species can see using the UV spectrum, the immigrated sentients cannot, and it isn’t until the glasses go on that the full array of beauty of Littora’s Aurora can be seen.
GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY
Government: Beneficial Corporatocracy
Affiliation: The Sith Empire
Wealth: High- With leadership focused in the businesses that mine extensively in system, and relatively low population, there is more than enough wealth to go around- while there are certainly ‘poor’ on Littora, the average level of wealth even for the common citizen is relatively high due to the necessity of the corporations needing to compete to keep their workforce happy.
Stability: Medium-to-High. There are two sides to the metaphorical coin. The city-platforms that have everything in order and those that don’t. Those that do can be seen as havens of stability, they welcome visitors from abroad and ensure they are well-treated. They understand that a happy citizen is a productive citizen and are loath to lose them to other competing city-platforms. There are regular policed patrols here, the streets are kept clean and lit. On the flipside there are ant-holes run by mismanagement and corporate greed- these platforms are home to the desperate. To those that have nowhere else to go. The police are more akin to well-paid bullies and brawlers with all consequences that come with it.
Freedom & Oppression: When someone hears the word ‘Corporatocracy’ they usually associate it with the worst things sentient life has to offer. From the Corporate Sector to Nar Shaddaa, corporate greed has little use for freedom. Littora is an unique exception to this common rule. The citizens of the various city-platforms are as free as they can be, they have the choice to work where they want and the most successful platforms are the ones that treat their citizens (and as such their workers) the best. Security is reasonable, the people are protected but not oppressed and the corporations make sure to listen to the voices of the workers. Especially because of the strong unions rising up and taking a level-headed approach at protecting the workers’ rights.
Of course, there are a some city-platforms that try to push against these trends. They mistreat their workers, the safety conditions are abhorrent, their rights get violated. More often than not this leads to the ruin of the platforms. Only the most desperate of individuals remain, who simply have no means to leave. They are in a minority, but they do exist whenever the greedy overtake the experienced.
MILITARY & TECHNOLOGY
Military: Littora IV does not have a planetary government, and therefore no planetary defense force. Privately owned corporate fleets protect both inter system interests as well as individual city platforms, and companies employ private security for policing needs.
Technology: Galactic standard, with the exception of aquatic and mining technologies, which run slightly higher than average.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Littora system was discovered tens of thousands of years ago. Without a classically inhabitable planet, it was largely overlooked at prime real estate and very little attention was paid to the largely undesirable appearing planets in the system. At various points the system temporarily housed pirates, but none of the bases were permanent, and when the Gulag Plague hit there was nothing of note in the system that survived the darkness that came after.
It wasn’t until the galaxy started to wake up again that the system underwent real scrutiny. Seeking out new sources of valuable ores, several companies discovered just how rich the system actually was- in particular when it came to ores useful for building starships, demand of which was incredibly high as the galaxy began to once again connect and interweave.
Rather than building just space based mining platforms, several of the companies opted to build on the only habitable planet in the system- Littora IV. The first colony attempt was a disaster- destroyed by the instability of the surface and the march of the seas. Rather than give up, they switched tactics, building floating corporate headquarters, untethered and functioning more like enormous ships.
Over the last twenty five years, these floating cities have grown in size, number and populations, though Littora IV still has a fraction of the population a more colony-friendly planet might. Through trial and error the people that have come to call Littora have found the best ways to live with the planet instead of simply on it. As more people arrive and the planet grows richer, more discoveries are made that allow greater safety and stability to the Littorians and promise a bright future for the strange ocean world.
