Tarlec

Planet: Tarlec

Type: Artificial planet. Has the outward appearance of a class K desert planet.

Location: 1st planet, Nyx system. Located in an extra-dimensional pocket continguous with a nebula in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, roughly 50,270 light years from Sol System.

Size: 1200 km in diameter (a little less than half the diameter of Earth's moon)

Satellites: 2, Scio and Khet

Surface Gravity: 1 g

Atmosphere: Near Earth-normal in the Citadel; over most of the planet's surface it's composed of methane, ammonia, with traces of hydrogen sulfide.

Primary Faction: Imaja

Government: Democratic Theocracy

Population: 22,513 Imaja; roughly 4,800,000 drones of various classes.

Demographics: 99.9% Drones, >1% Imaja

Overview: Tarlec is a small rocky planet that orbits a red dwarf star, Nyx. It was the only known homeworld of the Imaja save for the small population that lives on Ceres.

The Nyx system is inside of an extradimensional pocket, having the appearance of a dense nebula, obscuring any view of external stars.

Nyx radiates a dim red light, providing minimal surface illumination for Tarlec. It does not provide enough energy to warm the planet or allow for photosynthesis. Much of Tarlec's energy comes from within the planet.

Tarlec is geologically active, having many volcanoes and geothermic vents. This geothermic activity provides the majority of the heat for the planet, as well as most of the energy needed for its ecosystem.

The atmosphere of Tarlec is thick and laced with volcanic gasses, blocking out most light. Much of the light seen on the surface is provided by worm-like creatures that are suspended in the clouds; these creatures measure tens of miles in length and radiate a pale blue light. The Imaja speculate that the worms are organisms from a higher dimension, and that only parts of them are visible. They are quite possibly organs of the Nexus.

Much of the native life on Tarlec is some kind of fungus, feeding off of bacteria that bubbles out of the volcanic vents on the surface. Occasionally there are other creatures that appear there, wandering in from other planes of existence, only to vanish shortly thereafter.

Much of the surface of the planet is regarded as hostile because of this, and the Imaja usually stay within the fortified walls of their central city-state, known as the Citadel.

The Citadel is large city of dense stone, roughly the size of Manhattan Island, having little sign of advanced technology, at least on the surface. The city is constantly protected by an energy shield dome.

In spite of its small size, Tarlec has gravity equivalent to the Earth. The planet's mass is much greater than its volume would suggest. The planet's core is series of massive power generators, drawing energy from artificial singularities. The generators not only provide energy for the ecosystem, but also powers the trans-dimensional gates that the Imaja use to travel between worlds.

Tarlec is an artificial world, created by the Imaja during the Galactic Empire Era, roughly 270,000 years ago. It was one of several similar artificial worlds that served as bases of operation as well as power generators for Imaja technology across the known universe. Tarlec is the only such world known to still exist, the rest having been destroyed in the Tairez-Imaja war.

The moons of Scio and Khet are small bodies, each no larger than 20 km in diameter. Both function as observatories and research stations.