Iris
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Iris is a Core Systems-aligned planet in the Katahdin System of Phoenix Sector.

Planetary Data

Geographic Data

Iris is slightly smaller than Earth, with an equatorial diameter of 11,500 km and a surface gravity of 0.95. There is a thin atmosphere (0.55atm at sea level) that is low in oxygen and high in nitrogen and other trace gases - anyone venturing outdoors for more than an hour or two risks serious lung and brain damage. Shallow seas cover approximately 28% of the surface.

Most of Iris's surface is an unbroken sea of yellow-green sand. Limp weeds and grasses grow around the bodies of salty water, but Iris has no trees, and nothing grows away from the shores.

Demographics

The population of Iris has been estimated at around 5 million, but a more exact number is difficult to definitively state because of the planet's current status. For the last hundred-odd years, the people of Iris have lived in self-imposed isolation. Iris was once billed as "a place to get away from it all", and to a League wracked by internal and external violence, the promise of refuge was too good for many people to pass up. The planet was founded without any sophisticated technical expertise regarding terraforming or other acclimatisation procedures, which shows in its current harsh state.

The first colonists agreed to be led by those that had first settled the planet, but as the modern equipment broke down, scouts, former military operatives, and survivalists grew in prestige. The population crashed and stabilized twice from equipment failure since its formation, a fact that was unknown to the larger universe until Iris's borders were formally opened with the installation of a minor starport in 2497.

Economics

In 2452, Iris was contacted by field representatives of the newly-formed CSFR with an offer to join, which the planet declined. When Scout Service operatives returned in 2496, they found the population on the brink of a third collapse. Faced with a social breakdown, the tribal elders agreed to join the Republic, if only for the emergency services that would be accorded to them. Unfortunately for them, once emergency service stopped, they discovered that they had nothing to offer the Republic in return for more goods.

Shortly after the starport field was laid, outside researchers discovered that a strain of marsh-plant that had been improperly altered to aid in the terraforming process could be refined into a powerful narcotic. With so few oxygen-giving plants, the people could not afford to comply with a Republic edict to destroy them, which led to a brief legal squabble and the eventual placement of the world under an Amber status.

Politics

The tribal heads and their networks of advisors still control the population, as generations of living hand-to-mouth have instilled an obedience in the people that is only now beginning to be shaken by the influx of modern goods. The rulers are therefore hard-pressed to allow in new machinery, food, and luxury items, while still maintaining their familiar way of life. The younger generation is particularly enthralled with the seemingly limitless universe outside of Iris.

The glasswort trade has upset the social order, and its full effects have yet to be seen.

Travellers' Information

Advisories

Iris has very little to offer besides unrefined fuel and contraband substances. Travellers are advised that any movement into or out of the system is likely to trigger a CSRN hail (at best). The population is generally open to trade, but their economy is much smaller than a typical Republic world (and correspondingly, the amount of credits they can offer is lessened). Merchants should note that there are few laws regarding the treatment of offworlders, and that anyone left in the Wide Hell is usually never seen again.

Travellers' Resources

Iris hosts a class D starport, which is little more than a large hangar full of locals peddling overpriced life-support essentials. The landing field itself is bare of any robotic assistance, and fuel is transported to grounded ships with a combination of antique hydrogen engines and human labor.

Destinations

Iris is within range of the following systems (for a ship equipped with a Jump-2 enabling drive):

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