Rakhana is the homeworld of the drell, a planet once teeming with life, biodiversity, and thriving civilizations, now undergoing a historic restoration effort under the United Federation of Nations (UFN) and the Illuminated Primacy. Once a barren and desolate world, the planet suffered catastrophic ecological collapse due to centuries of unchecked industrial expansion, leaving behind rocky deserts, acidic seas, and lifeless landscapes. By the time of first contact with the hanar in the 1980s FS, Rakhana was already doomed to a slow, agonizing death.
The hanar-initiated exodus saved only a fraction of the drell, evacuating approximately 375,000 survivors to Kahje, while billions perished as wars erupted over dwindling resources. For centuries, Rakhana became a cemetery world, inhabited only by a few thousand scattered drell living in isolated settlements, struggling to preserve their cultural heritage among the ruins of their once-great civilization.
Following the Reaper War, a monumental terraforming and restoration initiative was launched by the UFN and the Illuminated Primacy, aimed at returning Rakhana to habitability and providing a future for drella who wished to return to their ancestral home. The project has seen significant success, with life slowly returning to the once-dead world, marking the beginning of a new era for the drell.
Geography and Climate
Before its collapse, Rakhana’s arid plains and rocky plateaus were home to diverse insect and reptile analogues, supported by seasonal rains and fertile river valleys. However, reckless industrial expansion, deforestation, and pollution led to irreversible environmental damage, causing the planet’s topsoil to erode and its oceans to become too acidic to sustain marine life. By 2025 FS, Rakhana’s biosphere was beyond natural recovery, sealing the fate of the billions left behind.
Today, thanks to UFN-backed terraforming, Rakhana’s skies are no longer permanently choked with dust, and stabilized atmospheric systems have begun to regenerate water cycles. Advanced climate control stations have restored seasonal weather patterns, and slowly reintroduced vegetation now dots the landscape. While still a harsh world, efforts are steadily turning dead deserts into thriving savannahs, making permanent resettlement a real possibility for the first time in centuries.
Resettlement and Urban Development
For centuries, Rakhana’s only remaining inhabitants were a few thousand drell, living in small, scattered settlements never exceeding a few hundred individuals. These groups preserved ancient traditions, maintaining oral histories, pilgrimage sites, and cultural relics, even as they struggled to survive in a world nearly devoid of resources.
Since the beginning of restoration efforts, new urban developments have emerged, with UFN-funded resettlement zones providing modernized infrastructure, sustainable agriculture, and water purification systems. The first major settlement, New Eshani, serves as the planetary capital, designed to accommodate returning drell from across the galaxy. The city features self-sustaining arcologies, hydroponic food production, and environmentally integrated architecture, ensuring that past mistakes are not repeated.
The planet remains a work in progress, but as terraforming efforts continue to restore ecosystems, more drell are choosing to return to Rakhana, seeing it as a chance to reclaim their lost heritage.
Cultural and Religious Significance
For the drell, Rakhana is more than just a planet—it is their ancestral home, the heart of their identity. The loss of Rakhana led to deep cultural scars, with drell struggling to preserve traditions while living on Kahje, a world vastly different from their own. Now, with the world being rebuilt, many ancient traditions, festivals, and religious sites are being revived, allowing the drell to reconnect with their roots in ways that were impossible for centuries.
One of the most beloved symbols of old Rakhana, the usharet flower, was thought to be extinct due to environmental collapse. However, samples preserved by hanar botanists have allowed the flower to be reintroduced to the revitalized landscapes. The sweet-smelling, scarlet-petaled blossom, once used for perfumes, topiaries, and cultural rituals, is now flourishing once again, becoming a powerful emblem of the drell’s rebirth as a people.
Economic and Scientific Significance
While Rakhana was once an industrial powerhouse, its modern rebirth focuses on sustainability and ecological research. With support from the UFN and hanar scientists, the planet is now home to numerous research institutions, studying terraforming advancements, climate restoration, and adaptive agriculture.
The planet’s recovery has also introduced new economic opportunities, particularly in eco-tourism, cultural preservation, and sustainable industries. New Eshani’s trade sector focuses on artisanal drell crafts, historical preservation efforts, and biotechnological exports, ensuring that the drell have an economic foundation for their new society.
Governance and UFN Integration
Unlike other UFN member worlds that retain historical governing bodies, Rakhana lacks a centralized government, as its people were largely scattered across the stars for generations. Instead, the planet is administered as a joint effort between the UFN and the Illuminated Primacy, with returning drell having a direct say in its future governance.
A Planetary Council of Elders, consisting of resettled drell, historians, scientists, and cultural leaders, guides policy decisions, ensuring that Rakhana’s revival aligns with drella values and traditions. While many drell still live on Kahje and other UFN worlds, Rakhana’s status as a restored homeworld has reinvigorated national pride, solidifying its place within the greater galactic community.
Rakhana, once a world on the brink of permanent extinction, now stands as one of the greatest terraforming success stories in UFN history. The dedicated efforts of both the Federation and the Illuminated Primacy have not only revived its environment but have given the drell a chance to return to their roots and rebuild their civilization.
With New Eshani as its capital, lush landscapes beginning to reappear, and the usharet flower blooming once more, Rakhana’s transformation represents more than just ecological recovery—it symbolizes the resilience, determination, and rebirth of an entire people. As terraforming continues and more drell choose to return home, Rakhana is poised to become a beacon of hope, cultural revival, and sustainable progress within the United Federation of Nations.
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