Oyarsa B
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Oyarsa B is a small planet, a moon of the gas giant Oyarsa in the Epsilon Tauri System. The planet features a unique biosphere: The surface of Oyarsa B is technically Class D and therefore uninhabitable, but a system of deep rifts and canyons is filled with a breathable atmosphere and lush jungles and rainforests. Oyarsa B is the home of the Tr'Nee, an as yet unclassified sentient species. Recently, a group of pirates built an outpost on Oyarsa B for use as a hidden refuge.
Epsilon Tauri System
Epsilon Tauri is a large Type G9 V dim yellow dwarf star with thirteen planets. Oyarsa, a Class J gas giant, is the fourth most distant from the star. Oyarsa B has a surface gravity of .6 g and is almost completely locked, with a day of 67 standard hours. Oyarsa B's year (its orbital period around Oyarsa) is 78 standard days long. Tidal stresses produce high amounts of geologic activity in the core of the moon and are critical to the moon's unique ecology.
Once every 5.9 local days (at intervals of approximately 394 standard days) Oyarsa passes through a belt of cometary debris. The massive gravity of the gas giant deflects the path of many of the fragments into Oyarsa B's orbit. For a period of fifteen standard days, meteor showers and impacts become commonplace.
Both Epsilon Tauri and Oyarsa emit vast amounts of electromagnetic energy, raising a wall of static to most standard sensor and communications equipment. Ion storms are frequent, making navigation through the system hazardous. Starships scanning the system are unlikely to detect Oyarsa B at all. Even if the planetoid were detected, any scan could easily miss the biological activity in the rifts, misclassifying the moon as Class D.
Environment
Oyarsa B is encased in a thick crust of ice. Tidal forces and reflected heat from Oyarsa have created a network of rifts and chasms which criss-cross the surface of the planetoid, many 5 km deep or more. Heat from geological activity at the moon's core warms the rifts, melting the surface ice and venting atmosphere into the rift floors. The warmth, water, and atmosphere sustain a lush rainforest environment with a remarkably diverse ecology. In the low gravity, the trees of the rift jungles reach heights of two or three kilometers.
Oyarsa B's rift jungles contain three distinct ecosystems, each with its own distinct flora and fauna. The uppermost reaches of the jungles, encompassing the treetops and the top 1,600 meters of growth, are cold and nearly airless. The central two kilometers of the jungle are a warm and humid Class M environment, home to a wealth of plant and animal forms. The lower 500 meters of the rifts is a very different biome: Volcanic vent gases and the decomposition of all the biomass which eventually falls to the rift floor create a dense, highly toxic atmosphere composed of methane and caustic trace gases. Light never reaches the canyon floors. During Oyarsa B's meteor season, meteor impacts frequently ignite vast pockets of accumulated methane on the rift floors. The resulting explosions gave rise to the natives' name for the season: Hiding Time.
On Oyarsa B, "day" and "night" can be confusing. The moon's day, that portion of time when the surface faces Epsilon Tauri, is actually darker than the night, when the surface faces Oyarsa. Whereas Epsilon Tauri is a bright point source among the stars, Oyarsa dominates the night sky, and is reflective enough to provide a large amount of light to the surface. At any event, the thick canopy of the jungle rifts filters the light, bathing the central and lower reaches in a dim, rosy light which turns to near total darkness during the day.
Away teams visiting Oyarsa B's habitable zone find themselves in a vertical world of dizzying heights and shadowy depths, without any hint of ground or floor. Visitors must quickly learn to move about as the local animals do: leaping and crawling from branch to branch, or swinging from vines. The low gravity makes falls less hazardous than they might be otherwise, but the careless or unlucky could find themselves impales by thorns or branches or plummeting onto the dark toxic rift floor. Landing zones for shuttlecraft are practically nonexistent, and the density of the canopy can make beaming in a tricky proposition.
Locations
A great mesa stands at the juncture of two large rifts. The surrounding jungle is much thinner than normal, providing a clear flight path to and from the promontory. Vollost Greel, an infamous pirate and smuggler, has established a base in a system of caves halfway up the mesa. Greel and his band arrived several years ago and have yet to be traced back to their hideout. The smugglers have taken to poaching and exporting rare fruits and animals as a sideline, activities outraging the moon's natives.
History
Long ago, the Iconians first arrived on Oyarsa B and soon noticed the chemosynthetic microbes which teem around the volcanic vents at the rift floors. After long experimentation and careful research, the Iconians were able to terraform the rifts into a more habitable environment. They seeded species from other worlds and genetically altered them to thrive in the new environment. Once the experiment was complete, the Iconians moved on. The initial Federation survey of the Epsilon Tauri System in 2240 missed the moon entirely, and Oyarsa B matured unmolested until the arrival of Greel and his pirates.
Government
Oyarsa B has no centralized government. The Tr'Nee bands of each rift meet once every four local years in a greet moot to arrange marriages and reaffirm tribal alliances.
The Epsilon Tauri system lies near the border with Klingon space. The interference from Epsilon Tauri and Oyarsa make the moon difficult to scan accurately, and therefore an ideal location for a secret base.
While feuds and competition among the various Tr'Nee bands are frequent, the conflicts never escalate into full-scale war. The disparate bands are neither advanced nor organized enough to bear out such a protracted conflict.
However, the increasing cruelty of the Sky People has enrage the Tr'Nee; they realize that some sort of coordinated action will be necessary to prevent the wholesale violation of their homes among the rifts. Exactly what this action will be, none can say.
Economy
The illegal, pirate and smuggling operations are Oyarsa B's only exports. The pirates have made a lucrative business of selling Oyarsan fauna, skins and hides, and various exotic fruits. More recently, enslaved Tr'Nee have joined the list of exports; they are sold to the Ferengi for use as slaves or pets.
Reference(s)
- Cambias, James, et al. Planets of the UFP: A Guide to Federation Worlds, Last Unicorn Games, 1999. ISBN: 0671040065.