Starmist is the only habitable planet in the Sundown system. It is a UPF scientific base for the study of alien flora and fauna. Starmist was the source of the Blue Plague. Only Spacefleet has knowledge of the star route to Sundown. The nights are very dark on Starmist because there is no moon and few close stars.
Planetary Data[]
Moons: None
Climate Range: Cool; warm to frigid
Atmosphere: 70% nitrogen, 24% oxygen, 6% inert gasses
Diameter: 9880 km
Gravity: 0.93g
Length of Day: 21 hours
Average Surface Temp: 5C
Trade: Education
Terrain/Climate[]
Plains[]
The plains area consists of rolling hills covered by grass 1-2 meters high.
Forest[]
Trees in the forests of Starmist grow 1-5 meters apart, of various sizes and shapes but most have drooping branches which block vision and hinder movement.
Rifts[]
Rift walls are approximately 7 km high. Temperature at more the 3 km above ground is subfreezing. Air pressure and temperature drop below life support levels at the top of the rift walls.
Native Life[]
Native Species[]
Bisron, Cudda, Gasp, Puff-Pucker, Snikker, Wispee (see Starmist Native Wildlife)
Sentient Life[]
There are no intelligent, competitive species native to Starmist. The Heliopes, the humanoid inhabitants of Starmist, are from a different system. They were slaves of the Clikks, who were left on Starmist in suspended animation inside an incapacitated Clikk starship. Before leaving, the Clikks subjected the Heliopes to an amnesic mind-wipe. Centuries later, when the power for the suspended animation controls failed, automatic unloading procedures began, dumping the Heliopes on the planet. Heliopes who survived on the planet filled in their missing past by making up legends and stories that eventually became their history. Culture among the Heliopes is somewhat shallow due to this genesis and that they have developed on Starmist for only about 500 years (starting at 450 pf). The Heliope religion focuses around artifacts and relics left by the Clikks. All Heliopes on Starmist are descendants of the original group. There are approximately 200 tribes spread out over 5 large rifts (the ones visited by the Clikks).
Heliopes are superb fighters, and they have competed successfully for food and space with native plant and animal life. Warfare and violence between the various tribes is common. A few villages sprung up near at the dump sights, where the artifacts were usually found. Villages contain reasonable complex but primitive homes, housing families and their primitive government. The Heliopes who are not villagers are nomadic.
Colonizers[]
None, newly discovered by the VSS Centispeed, system presently under investigation by the Clarion Department of Extra-Solar Affairs. No determination as to procedure or disposition has been made.
History[]
The planet Starmist was formed eons ago around an unknown star. Because of a number of factors, including slow rotation, the planet never formed any extensive soil depth. The poor development of soil coincided with the slow development of life forms. However, an orbital instability caused gravitational distortions in the bedrock so that massive splits occurred in the planet's crust. Huge rifts formed in the surface, much like gigantic canyons, many of them miles deep. The planet, unable to hold it orbit around the star, and finally hurtled into a space, a cold frozen ball of ice. After ages, it was captured by its present star, Sundown, taking an orbit somewhat tighter then it's original orbit. Gradually the planet warmed. Water and atmosphere collected in the rifts and they slowly became habitable. Vegetable, insectoid and fish-like forms were the first to appear and are now fairly widespread in the rifts. Mammals and related species are few in number.
The Sathar set up a training base for espionage agents on Starmist, nearby one of the villages. The base was also used for research on bio-genetic constructs. 14 years later in FY50 the planet was discovered by a Frontier merchant ship and evidence of an advanced ancient culture (the Clikk) was discovered. At this time, the Sathar began preparations to abandon the planet. A second return to the planet by a Frontier exploration team (ACE/Stratex) discovered a Clikk ship. The ship was destroyed in the investigation in an atomic explosion. The Sathar base was destroyed in an self-destruct which caused an atomic explosion. A Clikk tank artifact was destroyed by yet a third nuclear self-destruct sequence. (FY51.1.5-7) It was from these explosions that the Blue Plague virus was born.
The system was visited again in FY54, by exploratory ships under the UPF and Vrusk merchants. It is at this time the Blue Plague was picked up. By FY56, the Heliope race was extinct on Starmist.
Government: The only government in the vicinity would be that of the UPF outpost.
Society/Culture[]
Law[]
Any weapons are allowed, as the world is mostly a wasteland.