TERRESTRIAL AGRARIAN WORLD | OUTER RIM

Features

Unremarkable. The planet Basus is a world with a small agrarian population and little in the way of infrastructure. It is located in an otherwise unpopulated region of the Outer Rim, which provides a small profit exporting its equally unremarkable foodstuffs to other local planets.

Agrarian. The planet’s entire industry revolves around the vast crops of therafin, a subsistence seed which is highly nutritious but not particularly tasty. The plant grows prolifically along the temperate zones along Basus’ equatorial regions, though not in its many mountainous areas.

Low-tech. Most technology on the planet is scrap, except for the odd speeder, blaster pistol, or one of the few functioning agdroids which make up the bulk of what passes for technology on the planet. The simple farmers of Basus have no need for commerce in most respects, and so tech is usually imported from the occasional supply ships which run through the system every few days. Anything particularly exotic may take weeks or months to arrive. The planet does not have a dedicated starport, and so large cleared areas around some of the larger settlements are used as landing bays, though few supply more than simple energy charging services.

Destitute. Unsurprisingly, Basus is an incredibly poor planet. Most of its citizens barely make a profit, and the vast majority of most farmers’ income is poured back into the maintenance of their agdroids, which are essential for harvesting enough seed to export for profit. Occasionally, citizens have been known to turn to banditry in desperation, since there is nothing close to a local militia or military to prevent theft by force.

Unaligned. Basus has no affiliation with any faction, probably because its insignificance means it barely registers to any of the local powers. There are some who suggest the planet is being infiltrated by various underworld figures, but such rumours remain largely hearsay and to what purpose such interest would actually serve is unclear.

Locations

The Dark Zone. A highly polluted region not far from the largest agricultural settlement on the planet is known to the locals as ‘the dark zone’, and is presumed to be the remnant of some cataclysmic explosion which destroyed the original colony on the planet before the current occupants arrived. Once a highly organised series of structures built atop a natural plateau, the region has since been completely destroyed and most of the buildings are now half-buried and entirely overgrown.

Phenomena

A standard day on Basus lasts forty-three standard hours, and the length of its solar year is two hundred and eighteen local days.

Native flora is diverse and often hardy—particularly in the mountainous regions of the planet—and naturally therafin has become the dominant form, thanks to its artificial harvesting and gradual genetic manipulation.

Fauna is uncommon except for insects, which are varied and often numerous. Basus is prone to explosions in local insect populations, which sees them move around in giant plague-like swarms, until they strip most of the local area of foliage and begin to die in massive numbers. It remains unknown as to why the insect populations are unable to control their population until it grows so large as to almost collapse its local ecosystem. Few scientists have shown any interest in Basus, so it is likely a question which will remain unanswered for some time yet.