Utolinen
The mainworld of the Utoland is an inhospitable desert world with an atmosphere choked with fine particulate dust swept up by the desert winds. Until rich, rare mineral deposits were discovered in the mountainous regions of the planet after the end of the Fourth Frontier War, it was not considered worthy of habitation or exploitation. During the past ten years, several rival corporations from Arden have set up mining operations to extract these minerals.
No thought had been given to the potential value of the sparse indigenous flora until two years ago, when a xenobotanical research team decided to catalog the few known plants found growing in the deserts and stony mountain regions of the world. It was only then that several of the plants had a peculiar property that could be useful in certain applications. Plants on this world apparently evolved the ability to absorb and incorporate mineral elements into their structures as a means of defending themselves against the sometimes fierce winds that would flatten other plants. These plant fibers could be extracted and woven into a material that had the properties of the high-tech ballistic cloth known to advanced worlds within the Imperium.
Upon making this discovery, several of the researchers did what any enterprising Arden citizen would do: they formed a corporation, the Arden Specialty Fabrics Corporation (or ACF) to market the material they named "Utolinen".
A seed germinates and firmly roots itself to a rock using microscopic tendrils. The plant then grows rooted to the ground it then matures, efficiently drawing moisture from the surrounding atmosphere and other nutrients from captured dust. Even when thriving, the plant appears to be little more than a dead, dried out shrub to the untrained eye, though its branches are surprising supple as long as the plant is rooted in place. When its seed pods mature, the root tendrils detach, allowing the planet's winds to blow the now dying plant across the desert floor, depositing seeds as it goes.
The trick to gathering raw material for Utolinen is to collect the plants just before they release their root tendrils and thus begin to dry out and die, or at worst, just after they release and begin their tumbling seed-depositing. The exact process for converting the mineral-rich branches into a weavable fiber is a trade secret strictly guarded by the ACF corporation.
Such armor can be worn beneath additional hard-shell armor; it can even be fabricated into what appears to be normal street clothing. The ACF markets a line of such clothing that encompasses styles ranging from formal wear to laborers' garb.
Utolinen armor has one additional feature that, in the eyes of some makes it superior to even the Tech Level 10 products well known across Charted Space. The minerals absorbed into the fibers have reflective properties that also make the armor somewhat effective against energy (laser) weaponry.
The following table shows the material's effectiveness compared to more well-known equivalent armor of the Imperium:
Cost of a suit of Utolinen depends on the style. Formal wear can be as much as Cr2000. Heavy laborers' wear sells for between Cr800 and Cr1500. Street garb sells for Cr1000 and up.
No thought had been given to the potential value of the sparse indigenous flora until two years ago, when a xenobotanical research team decided to catalog the few known plants found growing in the deserts and stony mountain regions of the world. It was only then that several of the plants had a peculiar property that could be useful in certain applications. Plants on this world apparently evolved the ability to absorb and incorporate mineral elements into their structures as a means of defending themselves against the sometimes fierce winds that would flatten other plants. These plant fibers could be extracted and woven into a material that had the properties of the high-tech ballistic cloth known to advanced worlds within the Imperium.
Upon making this discovery, several of the researchers did what any enterprising Arden citizen would do: they formed a corporation, the Arden Specialty Fabrics Corporation (or ACF) to market the material they named "Utolinen".
Source
While several of the larger plant species growing in Utoland's deserts exhibited the ability to absorb minerals from the environment, one plant seemed to be far more efficient at doing so. This plant was commonly referred to as a Tumbler; so named because its lifecycle resembled that of a Terran plant known as a tumbleweed.A seed germinates and firmly roots itself to a rock using microscopic tendrils. The plant then grows rooted to the ground it then matures, efficiently drawing moisture from the surrounding atmosphere and other nutrients from captured dust. Even when thriving, the plant appears to be little more than a dead, dried out shrub to the untrained eye, though its branches are surprising supple as long as the plant is rooted in place. When its seed pods mature, the root tendrils detach, allowing the planet's winds to blow the now dying plant across the desert floor, depositing seeds as it goes.
The trick to gathering raw material for Utolinen is to collect the plants just before they release their root tendrils and thus begin to dry out and die, or at worst, just after they release and begin their tumbling seed-depositing. The exact process for converting the mineral-rich branches into a weavable fiber is a trade secret strictly guarded by the ACF corporation.
Properties and Applications
Fabric woven from the tumbler branch fibers have several properties that make it ideal for the creation of lightweight, concealable, and surprisingly effective body armor. Similar to the high tech cloth armor known throughout the Imperium (as well as the Zhodani Consulate and almost every other notable polity in Charted Space), the material provides reasonable protection against projectile weaponry.Such armor can be worn beneath additional hard-shell armor; it can even be fabricated into what appears to be normal street clothing. The ACF markets a line of such clothing that encompasses styles ranging from formal wear to laborers' garb.
Utolinen armor has one additional feature that, in the eyes of some makes it superior to even the Tech Level 10 products well known across Charted Space. The minerals absorbed into the fibers have reflective properties that also make the armor somewhat effective against energy (laser) weaponry.
The following table shows the material's effectiveness compared to more well-known equivalent armor of the Imperium:
Cost of a suit of Utolinen depends on the style. Formal wear can be as much as Cr2000. Heavy laborers' wear sells for between Cr800 and Cr1500. Street garb sells for Cr1000 and up.
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