Akiton

Akiton is a planet in the Pact Worlds system. It is the third planet out from the sun (or the fourth, counting missing Golarion, or Absalom Station as a full member of the Pact Worlds). It is also referred to as the Red Planet, due to the red-orange color of its iron-rich soil.

Geography

Geography

Akiton's surface is rocky and rich in iron, giving it its distinctive red hue. Over tens of millions of years, its core has cooled considerably, causing tectonic activity to slow down and solar winds to gradually blow away the atmosphere. As the temperature drops, water froze into miles-thick polar ice caps known as the Winterlands, killing most plants and leaving behind immense trenches, salt flats and lifeless plains. Geological research points out several theories, including raging rivers and divergence of tectonic plates. The greatest canyon is the Edaio Rift, which nearly circumnavigates Akiton. Across the Winterlands, winds blow down at extreme speeds, sometimes colliding into powerful twisters that blast the ice into short-lived clouds. Within its crust are immense veins of thasteron, a substance once vital in the production of starship fuel until obsoleted by the advent of Drift travel.
Akiton's barren surface supports various species of cacti, grasses and shrubs whose roots can dig up to 100 feet into aquifers. Dust storms are common, and can last indefinitely until blocked by mountains. Prior to the Gap, a terraforming operation called the Bounty was conducted to stabilise Akiton's soil and restore its flora, although when funds dried up, the project was prematurely ended and most sites withered, except for the Bounty's core.

Localized Phenomena

Government

Akiton has no central government. Most of the planet is lawless, except for a few city-states. Since most of the oligarchs in charge of their governments prefer to fight over resources and hire mercenaries to perform covert operations against each other, instead of spending money to fight crime and enforce regulations, Akiton is a hotbed for organised crime and smuggling. Although slavery is openly legal in few cities, a vibrant slave market for gladiators and workers exist. Most governments offer a bounty on slavers' heads, while also accepting bribes from them to look the other way.

Fauna & Flora

Inhabitants

• Ysoki
• Shobhads
• Contemplatives of Ashok

History

History

Millions of years ago, a particularly large meteorite slammed into Akiton at a shallow angle, creating the oblong Irkonian Sea and killing off most of the megafauna, paving way for the evolution of humanoids. Force waves from this event can be seen from thousands of miles, uplifting the Arlkari Plateau.


The rise of space travel begun a centuries-long thasteron boom as all kinds of businesses and immigrants came to Akiton, bringing their wealth with them. However, when Triune revealed the Drift to the galaxy, the demand for thasteron plummeted. Within decades, the thasteron mining industries crashed as costs outweighed profits; only the purest and most accessible veins are being mined today. After several centuries, the economy stabilised but was a shadow of what it used to be.


Across Akiton are a huge number of crashed starship hulks which crashed at approximately the same date some time during the Gap, suggesting that a battle once took place on its surface and in its orbit.

Titles The Battlefield
Type Planet
Adjective Akitonian
Diameter 0.5x
Mass 0.0833x
Gravity 0.333x
Atmosphere Thin
Year length (PST) 2 years
Day length (PST) 24 hours 40 minutes
Orbits Sun
System Pact Worlds system
Inhabitants Ysoki, Contemplatives, Ikeshtis, Shobhads

Type

Planet

Location under

Pact Worlds system