Ak'Thakra (ˈɑk.ˈtʼɑkra)
A tidally locked world in the Rakt'Akla star system, 2nd from the sun. Is the unofficial capital of the Omega-Aurutka-Rakt'Akla cluster, largely due to being a fourth-generation colony with fairly advanced technology for the region. Especially notably for both being a naturally life-bearing planet, with a human-breathable atmosphere no less, as well as for its Antimatter industry, being the only producer within the nearest 50 lightyears.
Population: 1604 million, largely human-dominant, at about a 85/15 split.
Geography
Ak'Thakra is tidally locked to its parent star, Rakt'Akla. This means that it is split into three distinct sections. The side facing the sun is a scorched, barren, and rocky hellscape, with no life and relatively little settlement aside from some specific and protected mining installations and research bases. The side not facing the sun is similarly barren, but is instead cold and dark, with no sunshine whatsoever. It is completely frozen over, and, once more, no life exists within it. These sections take up the majority of the planet's surface, but there is an exception.
There is a band running along the unmoving terminator of the planet. This section is flanked by regions of desert, sandy and hot on one side and dark and icy on the other, but not to extents of the other regions. Moving towards the terminator, these gradually give way to prairies and tropical areas on the sun-side, and tundras and cold forests on the nightside, and eventually meet in a region not dissimilar to southern Europe in enviroment. The center of the habitable band is, in many places, separated from the rest of the land via oceans.
Ecosystem
The habitable zone is covered in life, varying a fair bit between the different enviroments. For example, the central part of the habitable, separated by oceans, is dominated by ecology vaguely similar to middle-Mesozoic era-Earth. This, of course varies across the band, but is a consistent throughline. The day-side regions contain other varieties of flora and fauna, more adapted to the harsh and dry enviroment there, such as the Giant Komodillo. The nightside, as well, has different life. The colder forests near to the oceans contain relatively similar life to the twilight band, and further out, the density of forest and fauna, too, decrease. The furthest reaches of the tundras and wastes of ice are home to the [big squid], for example.
History
Ak'Thakra is a second-generation settlement, settled by people from a place directly settled by Earth. This is quite a rarity this far out, and is part of why they have such comparatively advanced technology. The settlement of the planet proper began in the very early 2600s, and quickly got to a respectable scale. Civilization on the planet grew, nations split and developed, the antimatter technology that made the planet so significant was advanced and rediscovered, and life continued. At one point, during the Battle of Ak'Thakra, the planet experienced a severe RKM bombardment, which scoured a good part of it clean of life. Life still remained, in parts not impacted by the strikes, but many regions were reduced to nothing more but ash. It would recover, eventually, in a good few thousand years, helped along by the people still living near it, though far diminished.
Alternative Name(s)
Discount Arrakis/tatooine
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