Galach

View from Orbit

Galach is a blue and white world with bright white poles and swirling white clouds across its' surface. It has no moons but several small starports in orbit.

Surface

The surface of Galach is covered by a single ocean that encircles the planet. Large ice caps extend from the poles.The sea floor is uniform and varies in depth from 100m to 500m. Strong storms are constantly moving across the ocean but due to the shallow depth of the oceans the storms are limited to rain and wind, with moderate swell.
Small, conical, islands rise above the sea level at random locations. These islands are volcanic and small in size, usually only 1 to 2 kilometers in diameter. These islands are heavily forested and home to the worlds flying and land dwelling creatures. Most of the islands are inhabited by farms supplying agricultural supplements to the population. Other islands are privately owned by wealthy individuals.
Across the oceans are floating cities built around large ocean harvesting machinery. These cities are not anchored in a single spot but travel from one harvesting area to another. Each city is assigned a specific sector of the world to harvest. Occassional deviations from the accepted routes have been the cause of conflict, sometimes violent. Cities provide services necessary to support long term habitation, including medical and education.
The center of each city is a large harvesting platform whose center bulges down towards the ocean floor where automated machinery collects material. Around the exterior of the city is a large wall that protects the infrastructure from storm surge.

Population

The majority of the population resides on the floating harvesters. Each city is home to 4,000 to 6,000 sentients. Residents are either part of the harvesting process, nicknamed 'guilders', or provide support services for the guilders. Both groups are commonly referred to as 'floaters' by those that live on the islands. Guilders are employed by the harvesting guild, a planet-wide organization that provides skilled labor to the harvesting enterprises. Education is focused on training floaters to become guilders. The differentiation in skill levels and the expected career progression has created a class differentiation amongst the floaters. It is not uncommon for a newly trained floater to seek employment in a different city when there are no positions available where they trained.
The island population, nicknamed 'farmers', work farms that supply supplemental agricultural goods to the cities. The trade between city and farm is robust and the agricultural goods are always in high demand. The farm areas do not provide the same level of services as the cities. Any education is provided by the farm and usually focused on reading and operation of farm equipment. Medical services are usually provided by someone with first aid training. Additional care requires transportation to a nearby city.
Movement between cities is normally done via submersible. Large vehicles ply the routes between the cities and islands transporting goods and people. Some flying transportation is available but most it is dedicated to surface to orbit work.
The planet is governed by a council of elected officials, one from each city, whose primary duties are to coordinate the cost of goods leaving the planet and reconcile disagreements between cities.

Industry

The primary industry of the planet is the production of pharmaceutical goods. The ocean floor has a large variety of flora and fauna that are used in a wide range of products.

Culture

The culture of the planet is centered on the city life. The small population of the cities creates a tight community where everyone knows each other. Many of those in the same age bracket went to school together. Family units are an important part of the residents lives and some cities have a significant portion of the population that can trace its lineage back generations. This often requires the city to seek immigrants or provide medical treatment to avoid genetic drift due to inbreeding.

History

Centuries ago, when the sector was being explored, the survey crews identified the flora and fauna of the ocean floor. When this information reached northern sectors the information created interest in the business and academic professions. Before too long the planet was inundated with ships of all types. The initial efforts at harvesting, and the competitive nature of the participants, threatened to destroy the ecosphere. Sector forces stepped in and created restrictions for the harvesting of materials.

Notable Features

Astelon Starport

The starport stands out as unusually for it sits atop the ruins of a large freighter. Centuries ago a monstrous freighter entered orbit to collect goods. Upon entering orbit it suffered a drive failure and was unable rise. Only through the heroic efforts of her crew were they able to avoid crashing the ship and killing everyone. When the ship reached the surface it flew over a small island and attempted a landing. It was only partially successful. The forward half of the ship touched down on the island but the aft section, with the drives, crashed down on the waters edge and split the ship in half. The drive section slid in to the ocean. The starport was built on top of the forward section and the interior of the ship has been used as an administrative headquarters since that time.

Grid Location: H-6

Climate: Rain, wind, storms

Gravity: 0.65g

Common Hazards: Storms, lightning

Atmosphere: Standard

Temperature: -11c to 38c

Moons: None

Diameter: 8900km

Length of Day: 19h

Length of Year: 243d

Starport: Good

Population: 100k

Government: Ruled by planetborn elected representative

Law Level: 7 - Moderate

Major Exports: Pharmaceuticals

Major Imports: Technology

System: Galach System