Bethal IV
VNY's notes:
Former home of Bethal AgriCorp, mostly concentrated on agriculture -- although it has had some big trouble in the past 40 standard years with its apocia hardwood plantations. First there was the termite problem, which Imperial Moff Tennd was working on solving, but then came the Twilight bombings. I'm not sure if the apocia will ever recover – the species was already in trouble before the bombing, and it takes 200 standard years to grow to maturity.
The soil beneath the cropland for Duskwick -- current planetary capital despite being a pretty small place -- and the soil in the surrounding forest all test highly for deurinium which is a very poor grade of phrikite metal ore. Phrik metal (and, therefore, deurinium) conducts and dissipates energy better than many metals, though deurinium does not handle the kinds of energies that most manufacturers would prefer. In this particular case, the net result is that Force-based energy systems tend toward chaos.
Where Bethal III has a Mentat colony in action, IV continues to be more of a mix. There are some Mentats here too, I think running some alternate hypotheses of environmental restoration, usually in small camps of five people dotted around the planet. But the big news here, as far as the societal structure goes, is a group of homebrewed "lords" we might as well designate former members of the Blood Wind Raiders pirate clan.
Lord Boza leads the Blood Wind Raiders in providing municipal services to the greater area that was once Meten. This includes the town of Duskwick, the farmland around it, a couple of small pioneer camps out in the Meten Woodland forest, and as much of the trails through the Meten Woodland as he feels he has the resources to manage. He collects "taxes" in the form of food, cut wood, salvaged artifacts, and other resources from the residents; in return, the Blood Winds provide security, find lost villagers, transport the injured to medical care, supervise upkeep on trail signal poles and on the defensive walls, keep track of potentially dangerous wildlife, and provide exasperated are you serious right now?! expressions when villagers argue about pedestrian nonsense.
Boza is the head of government for Bethal IV, is what I'm saying. Good job, man: this is how the Vor happened. You're a proto-Vor. Once the House Vorpelagia High Lord finds out, you're going to be a test case for creating new Vor households without it being Emperor Gregor's idea in the first place.
- database entry updated Satunda
18 Elona
12726
18 Elona
12726
Geography
Holopedia Galactica entry:
Bethal IV is a forested, agricultural world in the Bethal System of Pelagia Province in the Tapani Sector.
It is within the standard gravity range of typical inhabited planets in the galaxy.
Local days are twenty-six standard hours long.
Local years are two hundred seventy local days long.
Bethal IV has a Type I atmosphere: Breathable for most species. A type I atmosphere has a proper mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases so that humans and most near-human species can breathe it unassisted. These atmospheres may have contaminants that over the long term have a detrimental effect.
The axis of the planet is offset approximately twenty degrees to the orbital plane, causing moderate seasonal variation throughout the local year. Temperatures average between -5 and 29 degrees Celsius, and is in the most comfortable temperature bands for humans and many near-human species.
The sentient population of Bethal IV was counted in the census of Tapani Year 12720 as 600.
The planet is approximately forty percent covered in land. The planet has large continental masses and many islands, but has suffered a great deal of geological damage in the past ten years due to missile bombardment. Caution is strongly advised when travelling by land or low-flying repulsorcraft.
The primary starport on Bethal IV, which is located near the crescent-shaped lake country on the eastern hemisphere, is Limited Services Class. This is typically a simple landing field, but there is at least a control tower to prevent collisions between ships in the planet's airspace. There may be maintenance sheds for rent. There may be fuel for sale, but other important supplies are unavailable.
Natural Resources
For centuries, Bethal IV was one of the economic powerhouses of the Pelagia Province due to its well-managed apocia forests. The Termite Bloom of 12678 combined with an unusually moist growing season on the southern hemisphere with devastating results. The Jedi Order sent a pair of AgriCorps researchers who specialized in woody plants and the common problems such life forms often faced, but these two were unable to contain the exponential spread of the termites. Additional AgriCorps Jedi arrived over the next few years, consulting with a House Vorkosigan Mentat bioengineering collective on Pelagon to confirm that the termites were not behaving according to any unnatural influences.
The Jedi and the local farmers were able to slow the termite spread, but failed to halt it. Eventually it spread across most of the planet despite increasingly rigorous quarantine methods.
When the Clone Wars began, the Galactic Senate called the AgriCorps away from all planets whose focus was anything other than specific food crops. It is commonly rumored that two of the Jedi who had been involved in the conservation efforts managed to escape the Great Jedi Purge and smuggle themselves back to Bethal IV under a variety of false pretenses.
This rumor may be the reason so many hyperspace missiles targeted the Bethal System during the Twilight of 12724.
Regardless, Imperial Moff Tennd made some progress with his efforts to save the remaining apocia forests on Bethal IV during his tenure. His programs continued to have some reclamation success after Independence Day. The existence of any viable apocia trees on the world to this day is largely due to Tennd's work.
The soil of Bethal IV has a high percentage of deurinium. Prospectors and geologists occasionally test areas of the planet for a corresponding phrikite metal ore vein. None has been found as of yet.
The soil of Bethal IV has a high percentage of deurinium. Prospectors and geologists occasionally test areas of the planet for a corresponding phrikite metal ore vein. None has been found as of yet.
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Planet
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Thanks to donjon's Star Wars d6 System Generator for the map and some fill-in details about this planet.
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