Mestra (world)
| Mestra/Orret (Far Home 2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classic Era (1116) | E340545-8
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| See also | UWP | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary | M8 V | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Planetoid Belts | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gas Giants | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mestra is a poor, nonindustrial desert hellworld with a population struggling to survive in an inhospitable environment.
- Hellworlds often offer daily, and sometimes hourly, life-threatening situations to their inhabitants. Survivors often form intense survival skills and tend to be grim realists.
- This world has no free-standing water.
- It requires extensive imports of outside technology to maintain a modern, star-faring society. Having to import most manufactured and high tech goods drives the price up for these items at this world.
- It is a Non-Aligned world dominated by human sophonts located in the Orret Subsector of Far Home Sector.
Astrography and Planetology
This star system is detailed using the Fringian Variant System Description.
- The supergiant primary star of the Demon's Eye system and the huge Demon's Eye Nebula that surrounds it, lying a few parsecs to spinward, are clearly visible in the sky.
Monostellar System
Mestra Monostellar System Star Name Hierarchy Category Mass (Sol) Temp (K) Luminosity (Sol) Mestra M8 V
Primary Main Sequence 0.085 2420 - 2570 0.00018 Unit Diameter Min Distance Hab Zone Jump Shadow M-Drive Limit AU 0.0005 0.0011 0.01 - 0.03 0.05 0.5 Orbit # * * * * 1
System Data
Smolder-Mestra System
The primary is Smolder, a dim red main sequence star. It has a luminosity of 0.0025 Sols, a mass of 0.244 Sols and a diameter of 334,000 km. (I) Mestra, designated the mainworld, (II) a vacuum worldlet, (III) a vacuum iceworld, (IV) an exotic atmosphere bigworld, and (VII) a vacuum iceworld with a highly elliptical orbit form the outer system – orbital positions (V) and (VI) are empty. None of the worlds retain satellites.
Mainworld Data
(I) Mestra
(I) Mestra is designated the mainworld. It orbits Smolder at a mean distance of 0.16 AU (23.9 million km), within the outer system. It has an orbital period of 47 days 8 hours: it is tidally locked to Smolder. The axial tilt is 3 degrees. Mestra has a diameter of 5,023 km, a density of 3.05 g/cm³, and a surface gravity of 0.22 G. Tidal stresses generated by the gravitational pull of Smolder cause frequent geological activity. Its atmosphere is rated as Thin, Tainted, with a mean surface pressure of 0.54 bar and a composition of 84% nitrogen (N2), 13% abiotic oxygen (O2), 1% carbon dioxide (CO2), 1% argon (Ar), and 1% water vapor (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), neon (Ne) and other trace gases. The taint is caused by the low percentage of atmospheric oxygen. Mestra is a desert world: less than 1% of the surface is covered in lakes of water kept liquid by geothermal activity. Mean surface temperature: -72°C. The atmosphere is slow and weak weather systems driven by the star drift across the globe. The climate is rated as Very Cold and is static, with no seasonal changes during the local year.
Mainworld Geography and Topography
Total surface area: 79 million km², Land surface area: 78.5 million km², Water surface area: 0.5 million km². The rugged Bloodshadow highlands cover the northern pole and much of the northern hemisphere, giving way to sharply ridged dunes and broad flatlands around the equator. The southern hemisphere alternates between low hills and wide rubble-strewn depressions. The southern pole consists of fractured canyons and ravines. Small lakes of water can be found within lowland areas, kept liquid by geothermal activity: they are surrounded by large wetland areas that give way to permafrost.
- The oxygen in the atmosphere is abiotic in origin, produced by the photocatalytic reaction between UV energy radiating from the star and titanium dioxide (TiO2), which is found in surface minerals such as ilmenite.
- Mestra is a Twilight Zone World.
- The world experiences libration, which causes the star to move in the sky and periodically rise and fall above the horizon in the twilight region.
Native Lifeforms
Smolder-Mestra System
No world in the system is known to have native life.
History & Background (Dossier)
Cultivating trade and friendly diplomatic relations with human states in the area is a goal. Ship building cultures in particular are approached for peaceful alliance opportunities. Eager citizens have been known to offer their services as highly rated protected forces mercenaries. Stoic and reliable, they are highly prized for their fierce dependability in defense and security work, especially under hostile conditions.
World starport
Mestra has a Class E Starport, a frontier quality installation with few expected amenities. There is unrefined fuel for starships and a limited variety of ship provisions. There is no shipyard of any kind, but there may be parts and technical support for doing minor services and repair. Ports of this classification generally consist of a downport.
World technology level
Mestra possesses a Technology Level of TL–8.
- Common Communication technologies for this TL include: Fiber optics, improved telephones, and satellite communication and data networks.
- Common Power Generation technologies for this TL include: Improved geothermal and improved batteries.
- Common Transportation technologies for this TL include:
- Land: Advanced automobiles.
- Water: Triphibians and early artificial gills.
- Air: Improved helicopters and hypersonic jets.
- Space: Space shuttles, early space stations, and improved interplanetary spacecraft (System Craft).
World government
Mestra is governed by a Representative Democracy where government leadership is representatives elected by eligible voters. What determines an eligible voter varies. The representatives determine policy, including selecting members of the bureaucracy. There can be referendum, votes by eligible voters on specific subjects.
World military
The practical and pragmatic nature of this culture precludes a large standing armed service standing around idle. Citizen soldiers, volunteers are called up into militia groups from each settlement in times of crisis. Units larger than battalions don't exist on this world. Having no enemies and only concerned with planetary defense means that the military budget is a tiny portion of gross domestic production. Defensive measures strive to make a ground assault unattractive to the Sath Alliance. A small constellation of crude defense satellites are to be used to dissuade aggressive troop transports from attempting orbital insertion.
World economy
There is some mining and refining of of titanium in sufficient quantities to be used for off world trade on occasion. Typically in small lots.
Trade data
Trade collectives set prices and manage auctions for bidding on trade goods in an open market forum which occur several times per year. For some unexplained reason this world has birthed some of the greatest stand up comedians in the subsector. They are typically known for a deadpan, dry observational wit. Dev Colbar, for example, toured for years with his stories of the absurdities of life in the Mestra system which he shared with neighboring worlds to rave reviews, especially on higher population, more hospitable planets.
World demographics
No information yet available.
World culture
In modern times almost all children are raised without the benefit of Hoppers. Habitats tend to be underground for protection. Settlements cluster around water sources. Electrolysis for hydrogen fuel and oxygen to breathe is essential to life and survival. Life support technologies are very important here, and craftmanship and reliability are matters of life and death and are taken very seriously. Moisture recovery and atmospheric compressors to enhance oxygen are essential in all structures, vehicles, and excursion suits used on the surface. Living in an environment that can kill almost instantly fosters a serious outlook. Vacc suits and thick protective/hazardous environmental suits with filter compressor units are extremely common and skill in their use is nearly universal. Solar arrays try to pry some energy from Smoulder. Funeral rites also include total moisture and resource recovery. Agriculture is a highly regarded profession. And food production workers in the greenhouses are very influential members of society. All adults vote on major decisions in referendums to settle matters. Experts are selected to tackle large problems with small teams and committees assigned to solve problems with fixed budgets of time and resources. A segment of society are dedicated astronomers with observations of the local Demon's Eye Nebula. Honor demands that weapons must be worn openly. Bladed weapons predominate. Although typically non-violent, if matters of pride or criminality are involved armed bands of citizens will rally to set matters straight. Formal criminal justice proceedings are more rare and reserved for matters of global importance. Small local matters are handled quickly and quietly at lower levels of society without fuss. The geological activity means that subterranean structures must be built to withstand enormous tension, compression and shearing forces. Numerous escape tunnels and rapid excavation drilling gear is vital to survival. Convoys of large tracked crawlers navigate trade routes between settlements across the bitterly cold surface. Thickly armored and very durable, well insulated with full life support these shielded vehicles are treasured resources which allow settlements to maintain contact with each other. Underground subways and monorails proved too easily destroyed and require too frequent repairs to be practical in the long run. Some imported grav vehicles, calibrated to the planet's low gravity have seen limited use as well. They often need additional vectored thrust systems to cope with this environment. Due to the levels of radiation on the planet surface, vehicles without at least starship hull metal ratings are not suggested.
Historical data
No information yet available.
World timeline
No information yet available.
UWP listing
No information yet available.
References & Contributors / Sources
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- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master Scout Emeritus Adie Alegoric Stewart of the IISS
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science
- ↑ "Jump Map API" and map location from Travellermap.com