Solaria

Appearances
This location has appeared or been referenced in


 * Operation: Sundown

Description
Solaria, or just Ia to it's locals is a small inhospitable planet in the Tau Ceti system. It's named was garnered from it's proximity to the systems star, a class M red super giant, due to the age of the star, it emits constant beta radiation, causing any colonies in system to have either specialised protective gear or thick enough coverings to block it out.

A side effect of the constant radiation slathering is the effect on long standing colonists, nearly everybody who spends an extended amount of time at solaria, typically upwards of three years sees their hair turn a bleached white. While not particularly dangerous, it is something to be noted. Below the planets surface lies the majority of the colony, a small but packed mining town sponsored by Nanotrasen. The colonies foreman, Jackdaw acts as a direct liaison between the colony and Corporate authority.

The colony maintains it's right of existence by mining the planet's various minerals, boasting some of the highest concentrations of exotic materials in the system. While the sale of these materials is extremely lucrative, the majority of the funds generated go straight to Nanotrasen, leaving the colony in a perpetual state of barely scraping by. The planet is kept in a stable orbit around the sun in Tau Ceti by a pair of colossal planetary stabilisers, in the event these engines fail, it will only be a matter of hours until the planet is dragged into the sun. As such an Engineering ERT team is paired with the planet for such emergencies. These teams were implemented after the 'Corsair Incident'.

Deeper below the surface lies various underground caverns and lakes. While life has not been discovered in any of these lakes or caves, liquids have. Unfortunately the liquid in question was a previously unidentified acid, causing the expeditionary crew involved to return with third degree burns. The acid, when left alone glows a soft white colour, often observed having small particles of it's gaseous form illuminating the caves as small wisps, proving too thin to be harmful even on contact with exposed skin in this state.