System Manual:Hela

Hela is perhaps the most inhospitable planet in the Phare System with the exception of Loki. It is a completely lifeless and barren planetoid in a close orbit to Odin. Consequently, it has the look of Hell itself. The surface of the planet is baked to a hard crust with almost no geologic activity and a thin, stagnant searing atmosphere. However, below the surface, Imperial colonists have created a small mining colony to extract some of the richest mineral and metal ore deposits in the entire system.

Geography

From orbit, Hela appears to be nothing more than a hellish world with nothing more to boast than a crust-surface with veins of molten lava spread throughout. This is a fairly accurate description of the world. The planet is uninhabitable by all standards, with only high-tech mining vehicles being capable of withstanding the extreme heat and radiation on the planet surface, and even then only for short durations, imposing severe limits on the ability to survey or attempt any extraction process. Whilst the world itself could barely prove more inhospitable it is at least fortunate that even limited extraction can take place, as the crusted surface is rich in seams of molten metals and minerals, most of which form the key chemical components of the more advanced alloys utilized in starship construction, in particular the specialist fields of engine construction - a reactor shield formed from a Hela-blended alloy has been found to reduce energy leakage by a massive 15%, a substantial energy saving on a vessel the size of an Imperial Star Destroyer.

Cities, Structures, and Demographics

There is no indigenous life on Hela since the planet surface is at temperatures high enough to boil water. In fact, there is no free standing water on the planet, having been long ago evaporated. Much of the planet remains unvisited by humans as they tend to restrict their operations to the essential mining activities. There are occasional dust storms which sweep the flat landscape of the equatorial regions in which the winds reportedly exceed 700 kph. It should be noted that humans can not survive unprotected in the Hela atmosphere for more than 1-2 minutes before their bodily fluids begin to boil in the dry, searing atmosphere.

Miners are among the only members of society to travel to the planet, but even they prefer to stay away from the world as often as possible, more so than they are forced to already by the planet's erratic geological state. The elliptical orbit of Hela has ensured that as it passes closest to its star the entire world is shaken by seismic forces as the fragile crust is subject to the increased gravitational forces caused by proximity to the central stellar body. With effectively half of the Helan year involving the planet tearing itself apart, it is simply impossible to establish even semi-permanent structures on the surface, at least by traditional means. It is rumored that Clan Scholae Palatinae maintains a base on Hela, maintained by the sheer power of the Dark Side, assisted by classified repulsor technology. The Dark Brotherhood has neither confirmed or denied these rumors, however, and insists that the Clan's location is classified information.

Attempts have been made in the past to establish habitat facilities in orbit, but the extreme cost of radiation shield maintenance has far outweighed the gain of constructing such a facility, and all efforts have been halted before completion or simply abandoned when the radiation shielding failed. It has proved far more profitable to simply wait until the orbit carries Hela away from her star and land large industrial crews on the surface, ensuring that maximum efficiency from the assigned labor maximizes yield before the extraction season ends. When it does so all miners simply depart, their vessels holds overflowing, filled to capacity. The next seismic cycle commences, massive new deposits are dragged to the surface, replacing the mined out seams, and once again the crews descend in a perpetual frenzy of activity.

Economy

The profits for the private individual or company are massive, despite heavy taxation by the authorities, but the demand for Helan materials is constant, ensuring that every cycle new crews are attracted to the potentially lucrative but risky industry. Every miner on Hela knows that at any moment the planet's constantly unreliable seismology could turn against them, whilst even the most basic equipment failure can leave a worker exposed to massive doses of radiation and an agonising death - however, despite the high mortality rate, all those involved - from the mining families to the heads of the various mining guilds and company executives - continue to return, even as more and more hopefuls from surrounding worlds try their hand. Whilst the private guilds, with a heavy Imperial involvement and sponsorship, attempt to impose a measure of regulation on the industry there is very little to stop private individuals with a ship attempting to profit.

The guilds, led by HelaTec and Imphela, have since realised that the grisly and unpleasant fates met by the vast majority of these prospectors actually adds to their ow assets, the guilds are able to contract cheap labor en masse by providing far more reliable equipment and safety guarantees, further adding to their own profit margins even with extra spending on technology. The guilds themselves often play prominent roles in the politics and industry of the worlds on which they are based, within easy reach of Hela, a fact carefully observed by an ever watchful Directorate mindful of the immense power and influence even a single successful extraction cycle can guarantee.