15 February, 2023

TECHNICAL SHEETS | STAR SYSTEMS | ARGOST

URR'UHRST̪θ' (Origin Point)

In hoku astronomy, Degazaakoza'pa (Dgazakzp) is the brightest system in the Sailboat constellation, during the summer in the southern hemisphere this constellation stands above the horizon pointing south, forming the base of the greater sail part of the boat. But across the Dominion it attends for its endonym Urr'uhrst̪θ', better known for its Human approximation Argost, and for Hoku travelers as Arihu'risitch (Arihurisit).

The name Argost actually refers to the homeworld of the Arrene, but this became a misnomer amongst their stellar neighbors, like mistaking the 'solar system' for 'Earth'. The star's actual name is noted down as Aa Rithel, or "The Sun" in common arrene.

Aa Rithel is an old single orange dwarf, and stars like it are found all throughout the Dominion.


STAR

parameters ID'd after HD 219134

AA RITHEL, The Sun

K3V orange dwarf star
Temperature 4700 K
        (in solar units)
Mass 0.80
Luminosity 0.26
Radius 0.77
Metallicity Z* ~1.28 [Fe/H]
Abs. Magnitude +6.30
Rotational period 8 days


PLANETARY SYSTEM

Aa Rithel's system possesses five planets, and one brown dwarf.

b) Unnamed rocky planet

A Mars-mass airless rocky world, its cratered and scarred surface is very similar to Mercury's.


c) Unnamed Venusian planet

A superterran wet Venusian, its high surface gravity didn't allow for the star's radiation to blow its atmosphere away, accumulating gas and vapors ever since its formation.


d) Ykaga, the Giant

A T-class brown dwarf at 0.54 AU, 27.44 Jupiter-masses and 12.12 Earth-radii, its upper atmosphere is full of alkali metals, carbon monoxide and methane at 830°C.

It has four satellites: Argost, and three unnamed Moon-like worlds.

The brown dwarf plays a dominant role across all ancient religions of Argost, it also dictates hot and cold days, as the planet slowly rotates away from it.


e) Argost, Origin Point

A terran tropical world orbiting at 12 million kilometers from the brown dwarf, at this distance the planet receives 0.15x solar constants from its parent, and 0.90x solar constants from its brighter parent, the mean surface temperature fluctuates between 30°C and -17°C along its orbital period. Being 2/3rds of the Earth's mass and 90% as large, Argost's gravity lies in the comfortable zone for every sentient race in the Dominion. Its day duration is about 80 hours.

The planet's surface possesses clean-cut preservation areas that can be observed from space, while the rest of the surface is speckled with a mix of beautifully planned urban environments and farming spaces.

The native population tops at about 6 billion while another estimated 15 billion other aliens live amongst them - despite that, it is quite rare to see an arrene at all, that is because the upper layers of their society live in luxurious space habitats or the city centers among themselves, the only the lowest ranking ones live in contact with other alien species, generally occupying roles such as police, army, private militias, town hall members, lawyers, weaponsmiths, ship pilots - with a few exceptions for those who focus their business towards exclusively alien clients.


TRIVIA & LOCATIONS

The political and economic capital of the Dominion is pretty well defended by hundreds of orbital defense platforms, inhabited by the wealthiest individuals of the Dominion apart from the arrenes themselves - but in such a wild and competitive place, there is no comfort without foul play. The descendants of bankrupt visitors and travelers overflow slums all over the place, its criminal and police brutality are unrivaled by anywhere else in the Dominion.

On Argost, as well as many capital worlds across the Dominion, the major cities form huge interconnected environments, with 30 to 100 million inhabitants, plus a few percent of travelers from across known space. The chaotic and stratified nature of the local society is a key piece of what keeps Argost and many other worlds under arrene control, keeping the rebels at bay with hunger and fire and petting the grateful so they don't rebel.

The largest and most populous city on the planet is Aa Iritesh'akar or 'The Enlightened City', it was initially built as a spaceport city to welcome visitors from the stars, being expanded over many millennia to accommodate more immigrants and their brood, some say that it hasn't completely lost its shine, you just need to stare at it longer to see it. 

Getting things, products, and weapons out of any arrene spaceport is not difficult, a myriad of licenses is often needed for that though, the hardest of which is to pilot or transport any pieces of arrene tech newer than some 1000 years - as long as those weapons are not engaged in prohibited space, armed travelers will be spared of a really bad time. Contrary to the rest of the Dominion, clone-presence is minimal to non-existent in the capital, AI presence is unrestricted however, with many platforms working manual and tiring jobs for their owners as a form of extra income.

Although isolationist as a whole, many arrene groups and individuals show great interest in the affairs of aliens, both in their homeworld and across the Dominion, those more interested individuals work hard to be sent to outworld prefectures, science expeditions, or just opt to straight-out live and trade amongst commoners - living in rather high standards, of course.

There are 50 annular black peninsulas and lakes observable from space scattered across one hemisphere, a relic from the height of the Qiro-Arrene wars - the rock in the region is completely blackened from the first and last act of aggression between the two civilizations, created by a relativistic projectile launched from the only Qire warship that ever managed to pass the outer planets. The bombardment of Argost by the Qire fleet was the last episode of a war that ended up bringing the Arrene on the edge of extinction, had it not been for outworld colonies re-settling their homeland, Argost would likely be a dusty wasteland like the northern hemisphere of Hokushoku. The flattened cities offered space for ambitious and planned architectural projects, which are nowadays, the trademark of places such as Aa Iritesh'akar.

MORE COMING SOMEDAY!

- M. O. Valent, 15/02/2023

- M. O. Valent, last updated 21/09/2023

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