Discovery Gaming Community - Planet Nauru: A Chronicle [WIP]

// I felt it'd be better if I wrote an entire chronicle on Planet Nauru, rather than litter information through RP posts. Hopefully this will inform people interested in the Planet on it's geography, the ruins themselves and any other details they may want to use in their RP stories - both Core and non-Core.

Station Name: Planet Nauru
Station Class: Planet
Date of Colonisation: 818 A.S
Location: Omicron Delta
Status: Operational
Atmosphere and Climate: Fully Breathable / Desert

Description

Planet Nauru is a warm, mostly dry desert world. Initially, it had large concentrations of hydrogen sulphide prevalent in the air precisely at 0.0051 ppm. Whilst it made breathing the air slightly intolerable and would be akin to breathing in rotten eggs, it presented no health risk to humans. Eventually, through a hefty colonisation effort The Core in cooperation with the Canaan Zoner group were able to diffuse most of the hydrogen sulphide in the air. Nowadays patches of Planet resemble a more Mediterranean climate - however this is only in the areas The Core has graced, and most of the world remains a desert. The Core has focused their colonisation effort around Athena City: a huge, gleaming city erected to serve as the capital within the capital of their empire-in-progress; Omicronis.

Initial surveys detected huge amounts of Iridium ore in the planetary crust, as well as many ancient structures and ruins dotted across the surface. The Corsairs eventually constructed a number of mining bases in conjunction with the Zoners. However when The Core turned their attention to Planet Nauru, they slaughtered the Corsair settlers and stole their efforts, taking their mining bases and many of their other structures for themselves. These bases are heavily used in order to extract the Iridium, which is a critical component in antimatter based weaponry, armour and notably ALG's HazMat canisters. Iridium is exported off-world to many shipyards and other facilities across Sirius - including Freeport 11. Iridium is a key part of The Core's economy, and is essential for them creating an income in order to finance their Edge Worlds campaign.

The population of Nauru mostly consists of both The Core's civilian and military personnel. This includes, but is not limited to, Soldiers, Pilots, Researchers, Scientists and others who either simply live on the Planet or fulfil the other important roles of AP Manufacturing. Nauru also houses re-conditioned criminal, and secretly slave, populations that are made to work within the Iridium mines. The planetary population of Nauru is still rapidly growing from the allure of a prosperous ‘haven’ in the Edge Worlds, and The Core does not want to release actual population numbers at this time (in part due to the Slave and Criminal populations, which The Core wishes to keep under wraps). However external parties speculate it to be higher than that of Planet Akabat.

Before The Core arrived, Zoner and Order science teams on the surface were investigating the Planet's geography. Whilst life, which was mostly hostile, had been discovered, it was no where near the level of human intelligence and was closer to being feral and primal. However, these science teams did stumble upon incredibly rare alien ruins and structures located all over the planets surface. These ruins contained technology that is/was used by the Nomads and Daam K'vosh, however they were conclusively proven as having not been constructed by either in 815 A.S by the eminent Order Xenoarchaeologist Kendra Sinclair. Little in the way of any clues or evidence as to the identity of the real builders remain, although with The Core now dominating the Planet, they hope to uncover the secrets left behind by this mysterious lost alien civilization. And if possible, weaponise them.

Contents

• History
• Geography
• Wildlife
• Plantlife
• Ruins
• Politics
• Economy
• Sustenance and Sufficiency
• Demographics
• Culture

I - History

Planet Nauru was discovered by Corsair Expeditionary Colonists in 802 A.S. Seeking a home world that could better facilitate the needs of the Corsair Empire where Gamma could not, the Corsairs began to focus a limited number of their assets towards the Omicron Delta system. Unfortunately upon making Planetfall many Corsairs threw up over the disgusting stench of the air. Whilst healthy for humans to breathe, large concentrations of hydrogen sulphide prevalent in the air precisely at 0.0051 ppm gave the air the stench of rotting eggs. The Corsairs did not let this daunt them, and continued to make progress in colonising the desert world regardless of the smell. However the Corsairs lacked the ability to construct their own Docking Ring within the atmosphere of Nauru, so they settled for constructing an Outpost in Nauru's orbit instead. This Outpost became known as Yaren Base, and via a space elevator offered the Corsairs a means to reach the Planet's surface. Over time the Corsairs would also become acquainted with the local wildlife, with some Corsairs losing their lives due to their own recklessness in handling such creatures. Any structures constructed would be guarded, to ensure that the local fauna did not negatively disrupt their operations.

Yaren Base was also constructed to serve as a meeting point between the Corsairs and The Order, which would prove instrumental in establishing their alliance until it broke down in 819 A.S. As per their agreement, The Order were also invited to partake in the colonisation effort of Planet Nauru and establish bases and installations across the Planet's surface, as well as conduct surveys for anything of value.

In 804 A.S the Corsairs discovered the Planet Nauru's crust was heavily laced with and highly abundant in the metal known as Iridium. Beforehand, throughout all of Sirius Iridium was an extremely rare metal and highly costly to extract. Even back in Sol on Earth Iridium was very rare in the Planet's crust - scientists had concluded that Iridium came from an external source far away in space. Much was the case in the Sirian colonies. This momentous discovery however had meant the Corsairs had stumbled upon the only known abundant source of Iridium in the entire sector. Furthermore, the desert terrain of the Planet meant that the Corsairs would be able to extract the metal from the planet with cost-effective ease. Shortly after, the Corsair population of Nauru contacted the local Zoner population and immediately began work on extracting Iridium from the Planet's crust. The Nauru Corsairs also contacted the upper echelons of the Corsair Empire, to alert them of this major discovery. However, the Corsair Supreme Court reacted with much disdain to their findings. They felt that the presence of Artifacts on the Black Market was enough of a means of an income for the Corsair Empire. They also felt that the idea of Corsair Miners was a joke, and would not have such a concept tarnishing their reputation. And so, the settlers of Nauru were mostly ignored by the Corsair Empire - bar shipments of supplies to maintain Yaren Base.

Fortunately, The Order and the Zoners did not share such attitudes. They were highly supportive of the Nauru settlers, and both funnelled support towards the colonisation effort. Corsair, Order and Zoner structures would spring up over time across the Planet.

In 806 A.S Order and Zoner science teams made a landmark discovery. On an expedition to survey more of the Planet's surface, a Zoner scientist spied a cave-like structure within a desert ravine. Cautiously venturing in, the science team would stumble upon the first of many rare and exotic alien ruins littered across Planet Nauru's surface. The teams gathered many alien artifacts and trinkets, and would spend the next decade or so studying them intently.

For the next nine years, aside from sporadic but ultimately weak Nomad attacks the settlers would exist mostly undisturbed and continue their mining operations and research into the alien ruins. However, in 815 A.S the rise of the Bounty Hunters Guild Core (as they were called at this time) would change that.

Operating out of Omicron Rho as well as Dabadoru Station in Omicron Delta, the Bounty Hunters Guild Core transformed from being a minor nuisance to the Corsairs to being a dangerously developing threat. The traction they had begun to gain from almost nowhere in Omicron Delta left the Corsairs and The Order dumbfounded - with the latter suspecting a third unknown party was responsible. Seeing how this might threaten their operations on Planet Nauru, Delta and the Omicrons as a whole, as per their alliance the Corsairs and The Order worked intensely to wipe out the BHG Core before it became to large and menacing to handle. Although their efforts could warrant some merit, they were ultimately futile. The sheer tenacity and ferocity the BHG Core showed in response to the alliance was fearsome as it was brutal - and gave both factions a first sickening look at the lengths the BHG Core was willing to go through to ensure their survival.

Meanwhile, in the background of such conflict, eminent Order Xenoarchaeologist Kendra Sinclair was able to conclusively prove that the alien ruins on Planet Nauru were not of Nomad or Daam K'Vosh origin. And in fact, were the remnant of a lost alien civilisation. However such an epic discovery was lost in the bickering and slow breakdown of the Corsair and Order alliance, notably due to political and ideological differences between the two. Whilst the Nauru settlers had cooperated greatly with each other, at the end of the day they were still either Corsairs, Order, or Zoners.

At the start of 816 A.S a violent civil conflict broke out between the settlers. But before it spiralled too far out of control and broke the alliance, The Order and Corsair settlers agreed to part ways. The Order forces left the Planet, leaving the Corsair and Zoner settlers on their own. Without the major backing of The Order on the Planet's surface, the Corsair effort on Nauru began to drop to a slow crawl. And with the Supreme Court failing to understand the significance of Planet Nauru, only the Zoners were left to help the Corsairs colonise Nauru.

The Bounty Hunters Guild Core took advantage of this insignificant focus. In 817 A.S, Guildmaster Varrus sent a task-force of dropships onto the Planet's Surface whilst the Yaren patrols were heavily occupied with the BHG Core forces. After successfully reaching planetfall, the BHG Core task-force quickly moved upon the settlers and all that they had created. The BHG Core mercilessly slaughtered all the Corsairs. Man, woman or child, none was spared. The Zoner settlers watched in fear as the BHG Core mathematically eliminated each Corsair. Once the bloodshed was over, the Zoners themselves were rounded up and either absorbed into The Core if they were fit for military service, or forcefully deported off the Planet. Those who refused suffered the same fate as their Corsair friends.

The Chrome Palace, Athena City, Headquarters of the Nauru Government.

The Bounty Hunters Guild Core took over all of the Corsairs mining bases and colonisation efforts. Using their superior resources and manpower they greatly expanded upon the Corsairs colonisation process, fully settling on 40% of the Planet. The BHG Core also discovered many underground lakes, as well as constructed 'filters' to remove the nasty stench out of the air. The Corsairs on Yaren desperately tried to reclaim areas of land to resume mining operations, however the BHG Core ensured the Corsairs gained as little as possible. Even when the BHG Core High Command went dark to the settlers after the catastrophic losses at the Battle of Minor, the settlers did not lay down and die. The kept going, and going, and going. And once they re-established contact, they still kept persevering. They were to be the builders of the capital of Omicronis, and the greatest human settlement in the Edge Worlds that would lay within: Athena City.

For years, the BHG Core would greatly expand and work on Nauru. They surveyed many more alien ruins, built many more settlements, discovered many more species of wild and plant life and mined large seemingly infinite quantities of Iridium. Many conflicts with the Corsairs would continue across the Planet, but the BHG Core would not let go of their newfound asset. This heavily demotivated the Corsairs, who felt they were fighting a losing conflict. They begun to slowly abandon Yaren Base over time.

And in 822 A.S, after the BHG Core had been rebranded to simply 'The Core', the Battle for Nauru took place. With their influence in Omicron Delta at it's peak and dwarfing all others, they pushed to capture Yaren Base and fully secure their dominance over the planet. Ironically, after several replacements in the Corsair Supreme Court they finally accepted the importance of Planet Nauru and sent a fleet as a last resort to try and shove the hold of The Core off Planet Nauru. Unfortunately they did not succeed and were defeated - leading The Core to capture Yaren Base and secure what was rightfully theirs all along.

Today, The Core still continues to explore and colonise Planet Nauru. Many more alien ruins are discovered and investigated, and The Core is excited to begin work on identifying and harnessing the power of any rare alien artifacts and technology they come across. Furthermore, they are also cooperating with Ageira Technologies to finally construct a Docking Ring on Planet Nauru, so that they Planet may become open to all - provided they are friends of The Core at least. The Core also hopes to establish tourism on Planet Nauru to create even more sources of revenue out of the Planet.

II - Geography

DIAMETER: 9,145 km.
MASS: 5.05 x 10e24 kg.
TERRAIN: Terrestrial
TEMPERATURE: 18°C to 52°C
ESCAPE VELOCITY: 9.1 km/sec

Through strenuous effort the vast majority of the hydrogen sulphide was neutralised from the Planet's atmosphere. Ironically however, whilst the concentration of hydrogen sulphide stood flat at 0.0051pm throughout the entire Planet's atmosphere, the further meddling with the Planet's atmosphere in an attempt to remove it fully resulted in extremely toxic, yet small, pockets forming at various points across the Planet's surface. Currently none of these are near any Core settlements and via combined efforts with the Canaan Zoner Group The Core hopes to eventually eliminate them in the next several years.

Via building upon the efforts done by the Corsair, Order and Zoner settlers before them, The Core has currently been able to develop across 48% of the Planet's surface. This 48% is composed of human settlements and cities, as well as a very large network of solar panels used to gather and store light from Delta's three suns and convert it to energy later. The remaining 52% is either desert wilderness, or populated with alien ruins.

Nauru lacks any sort of rivers, oceans or lakes, however underneath the Planet's crust lies many underground lakes. Via this, throughout The Core settlements artificial lakes and rivers may be found. Around the lakes The Core has begun to establish artificial beaches in preparation for a potential tourism industry on Nauru.

Much of the Nauru terrain is composed of sand dunes and sandy hills. Spread across its surface are mountains composed of sandstone and iridium. The highest point on Planet Nauru is Mt. Caesar. The Core has established mining bases across the mountain to extract iridium from the crust.

Climate

The vast majority of Planet Nauru's climate is dry, arid and full of sunshine. Temperatures sit at around 36 degrees Celsius, at lowest have been 22 degrees Celsius and have been known to rise to 60 degrees Celsius in areas where the Delta suns focus onto. Although clouds do form, precipitation is extremely rare. Last recorded rainfall was in 818 A.S, which lasted for approximately 2 hours. Prevailing desert winds sweep across the Planet's surface - reaching speeds of up to 74 MPH. Winter is non-existent on the Planet and snow has never been recorded by any generation of settlers.

Weather is pretty much static across the Planet. However during expeditions some parties have reported intense sandstorm; composed of sand twisters, grains of iridium and glass, dangerous winds and most impressive but oddly of all, lightning. If such a storm occurs nearby personnel are advised to seek shelter immediately. It has been recorded that upon areas where the storm-bound lightning strikes, patches of glass are formed at the impact site.

Administrative Sectors

The entirety of Planet Nauru is overseen by the Omicronis military Government based at Athenia City. Within the Government, branches oversee each section of the Core settlements. Currently, there exist 4 branches that control roughly 25% of the settlements each as sectors. These are Sector Alpha, Sector Beta, Sector Gamma and Sector Delta.

Undergoing review.

Spoiler

III - Wildlife

Beyond the Core settlements lie the great wild deserts of Planet Nauru. Whilst populated with many ruins that adventures would be looking to explore, the wilderness of Nauru itself is rife with danger, oddities, awe and wonder.

With many parts of the Planet's surface still unexplored, Nauru biologists believe that there is certainly more forms of life to discover across the Planet's surface.

Oddly, the Corsair settlers themselves did not make a habit of reporting life across the Planet. When The Core took control, they began to discover many forms of complex life. Although whilst some docile and generally peaceful animals were discovered, most of the Planet's life showed hostile tendencies. Unsurprisingly, such was to be expected given the unforgiving climate of the Edge Worlds - that life on its Planets would be equally hostile.

Some creatures are farmed for both their produce and their own bodies. This provides the Nauru colonists with sustenance, as well as allowing them to create a plethora of goods. However, Core hunting parties do not venture beyond the cities commonly, and if they do they always travel heavily armed.

The Core also makes use of the harsh environment to train its pilots. Those that are able to survive the Planet's harshest creatures are celebrated. Those that do not simply wind up as dinner.

Creatures of Nauru

Adanatru

The Adanatru is a fairly large, peacock-like, creature found throughout the Nauru deserts. Docile and very curious of humans, it does not express any hostilities and in fact makes a habit of following humans around. The Core has made use of this by capturing the creatures and using them as mounts as well as pets. The creature’s feathers are also often farmed and added to clothing, as a symbol of luxury. They feed on plants and berries located throughout the Nauru landscape. Their stomachs allow them to process the poisons out of what they eat, safeguarding them against some of Nauru's nastier bits of vegetation.

Ootoleki

A relative of the Adanatru, the Ootoleki is another large bird. Its characteristics much more resemble that of an ostrich. Unlike the Adanatru however it is not fond of humans and prefers to keep its distance. The Core harvests it's distinctly blue-coloured eggs as food. They feed on plants and berries; however they lack the adaptations of their Adanatru relatives. Although one difference is they feed on insects.

Veyilark

The Veyilark is a large, rare reptile-like flying creature found around Nauru's sandstone mountains. It makes its nest near the peak, and since the induction of humans into the area it lives in it makes an odd habit of stealing construction materials and technology. The Core has to safely guard its assets when operating near Sandstone Mountains as the Veyilarks might attempt to swoop in and run odd with anything from cables to radio antennae. Surprisingly, they have a diet that consists of sand.

Isangji

Isangji are dragon-like creatures found in Nauru caves. They hang from the ceiling via sharp, single claws found at the tip of their wings. Their fangs secrete a type of acidic that burns human skin. Whilst a single Isangji may not be potent to the lone explorer, groups - which is what they are often found in - can attack humans and give them a long, incredibly painful demise.

Sandfish

Sandfish are fish-like creatures with elongated fanged mouths that literally 'swim' through the Nauruian sands. They are very common and often swim in packs, preying on Adanatru and Ootoleki to eat. Their technique involves slowly approaching a target in the sand, before jumping out and biting the limbs of their prey. Packs of Sandfish cooperate to do this, with the intention of dragging their target into the sand in order to suffocate it. They have been known to attack Core expeditionary personnel and such care should be taken if you spy their fins sticking out in the sand.

Quarnix

Quarnix are heavily armoured, rhino-like creatures that are very territorial and often aggressive towards humans. Although herbivores, they do not take kindly to outsiders and not even to their own kind. Quarnix can often be seen engaging in territorial feuds, whereby they repeatedly butt-heads with one another until one Quarnix's armour shatters.

Zebelakka

Zebelakka are lizard-like creatures often found roaming the dunes of Nauru. They are creatures of a predatory nature, and often go hunting Sandfish, Adanatu or Ootoleki. When hunting they tend to be accompanied by Zebeluk and Zebelok. The Zebelakka is the Alpha of the Zebel-species. Zebelakka are also fairly intelligent creatures, and are known to make use of their environment to capture their prey. Following this, the Zebelakka has a fairly good understanding of The Core - because of this it likes to maintain its distance from human settlers. Although they are more than happy to pounce upon the lone human trainee patrol moving through the wastes.

Zebeluk

Zebeluk are the males of the Zebel-species. They hunt in packs, and are often lead by a Zebelakka. They're not the most intelligent creatures, and they are known to throw themselves at Core personnel. Typically the Zebeluk end up being vaporised.

Zebelok

Zebelok are the females of the Zebel-species. They hunt much less frequently than Zebeluk and Zebelakka, and often remain looking after the nests. They are shown to display higher levels of intelligence than Zebeluk, as they are able to spot the danger of an approaching Core patrol and flee if needed.

Nretoi

Nretoi are flying insectoids found across the Nauru sand dunes. They tend to establish nests in trees, and feast on the juices of fruit. Some have been spotted making nests in Core settlements, much to the horror of Core settlers. As such, Core pest control squads have been created to keep the cities clean of these creatures.

Feariaz

Feariaz are rare, but frightening and nightmarish predators found roaming the Nauru wastes. Towering above humans and most land animals on Nauru, Feariaz prey upon and eat everything in the Nauru deserts no matter what it is. Even other Feariaz. It has extremely high endurance and is hard to take down, even with Core weaponry. The saliva that drips from its jaw is highly toxic and can make a person very ill.

A popular myth is that the sight of a Feariaz means that an electric sandstorm is nigh, as Feariaz are seen as bringers of destruction.

Rampanant

Rampanat are horned, dragon-like nomadic creatures roaming the Nauru desert. Although herbivores, they are very aggressive and are known to kill. It is not uncommon for them to ram the walls of a Core settlement with their horns. The damage they can cause creates quite a hassle for The Core, therefore they are focusing on trying to exterminate them whenever possible.

Tequorpa

Only one Tequorpa has ever been spotted. It was seen during an excavation mission of an underground Nauru lake. Core excavators working underwater noticed the creature swimming in the distance, but upon trying to get closer it quickly fled into the underwater darkness. It's theorized that there may be a network of underwater tunnels underneath the Nauru surface, and that these creatures may make use of them.

Sand Elder

Sand Elders are huge, extremely rare, whale-like creatures that can be seen literally swimming through the Nauru sands much like Sandfishes. Reporting sights have indicated that the creatures are not aggressive, but The Core worries what might happen if came near a settlement.

One Core expeditionary patrol came across a dead Sand Elder in 821 A.S. Interestingly, they discovered that the back of the creature was encased in iridium ore. Scientists believe Sand Elders may swim as deep as the Planet's crust, which would explain how they would have picked up such large amounts of iridium onto their backs.

PLACEHOLDER