Vista

Geography

Vista is a dry desert world with no polar icecaps. the relatively flat desert world is broken up by a few enormous mesas with an average height in the hundreds of meters, with the table size of each mesa being counted in square kilometres. each mesa acts like a sponge that soaks up water and contains it within them. causing each of them to have relatively fertile natural grasslands on their tables. with excess water forming lakes in depressions of the table. without these mesas there would be no way of sustaining year-long life without further terraforming of the world.

Climate

with the cooling of the air as the summer rolls into winter the water levels in the Mesas rise, as mesas water bearing capacity gets refilled and eventually fully saturated. this saturation causes the lakes on the table to grow, until they eventually overflow and spill over the edge of the mesas and into the desert floor. in the winter the mesas will be so saturated that the overflow will be constant, causing streams, rivers and lakes to form. but as the air heats up, the overflow dries up. and eventually the lakes and the waterways also dry up, leaving behind them deposits of minerals such as, salt, calcium, iron oxide among others. forming a crusty whitish surface where the water once was. the cycle repeats itself every year. with the water levels dropping during the ~4 month period with zero precipitation draining the mesas again, ready to be filled as the air cools.

Fauna & Flora

Outside of the Naturally growing grass and fern plants that grown on top of each of the Mesas. Originally planted as wind breaks, colonists have successfully integrated a few species of coniferous trees in the biospheres of the Mesas.
Down on the desert floor, there is very limited plant life. mostly sparse bushes and grass tufts and the occasional cacti. the few species of bushes and grasses that can live in the dry environment, tend to form tumbleweeds to spread their seeds.

History

Very little is known about the colonisation of Vista prior to the Galactic Civil War. Its uncertain who colonized it and to what purpose and extent it was colonized, but records tell that it often served as a rest stop for Zygerrian Slavers. During the GCW, due to the displacement of peoples, there was an influx of people deciding to settle on Vista. this influx helped the small colonies that had formed on top of the mesas to grow. forming several towns and cities eventually turning each Mesa into its own country of sorts. With the lack of oversight and regulations from any large political force, Vista became a lawless region, drawing attention from the criminal underworld. criminal organisations moved in, drawn to the potential profit to be made from providing entertainment to passing traders. combined with the lack of any strong law enforcement made protection rackets, brothels and gambling dens very profitable for the various criminal organisations. though originally very scattered, over time, the various criminal organisations formed mafias. with each mesa´s underworld ending up controlled by each its own mafia.While there was over time developed law enforcement and a state aperture with elected politicians, the power and influence of the mafias is so significant that an aspiring politician dont stand any chance of getting elected without support from the mafia. this also have resulted in the law enforcement that does exists is not far removed from just being uniformed henchmen for the local mafia.
while initially a very violent period, until one organisation had become the dominant one for each mesa, it did lead to a relative stabile and prosperous period. Slavers didn't target Vista when it was population and resource poor, now the entertainment available to passing merchants had increased and there was a organized crime presence that made it even less of a tempting target, even if there was more people. the presence and influence of the criminal organizations also helped to keep pirate raids rare. but this stability did not last. while initially pleased with just controlling their own mesa, over time the various Mesa´s governments, and their Mafias, starting fighting each other over profits. be that over land claims and associated mining rights or to sabotage and destabilise the ability for the other to provide for the passing traders and "tourist".
These conflicts negatively impacted the profits of each Mesa, since tourists and traders dont like being anywhere why they may get shot or robbed. further as the conflicts continued so did the downwards spiral for the mafias. leading to a weakened ability to intimidate pirates, with much manpower and resources tied up in the inter-mesa conflicts. while the organizations still held unto substantial wealth. making them now much more tempting targets for pirate raids. while stilling having continued fighting between the Mesa´s after several pirate raids, having shaken up the power structure on some Mesas the various criminal organisations came to the conclusion that continued fighting was untenable and highly unprofitable. the various Mafias formed a Commission or Council with each having representation, helping them to solve conflicts and retain profits. the exact inner workings of this Commission is unknown, but it is said that it helped path the way for a world government being formed. while stability somewhat returned to Vista, this period had exposed a long term weakness, defence from pirate raids. When Vistas government learned of formation of the ORC, they where quick to join based on a cost benefit analysis, between being able to share the costs of forming a navy versus having to either rely on pirates/mercenaries or forming their own.

UWP: C760732-9 De

Starport
Class C
Size
7 Large
Atmosphere
6 Standard
Hydro
0 0%–5% liquid surface
Population
7 X0.000.000s Tens of millions
Government
3 Self-perpetuating Oligarchy
Law level
2 Low
Tech Level
9 Medium Low
Trade Code
De - Desert World

Type

Planet

Owning Organization

The Outer Rim Confederacy