Datafile: Taskarr

The Taskarr planetary system has three inner gas giants, and four rocky planets. The major planet is Taskarr II, last seen in the Fourth Age and recently returned since the Xilos Catastrophe. The system is riddled with ancient and decaying orbitals and space-habitats, as well as the remnants of intra-system spaceships.

On the planet and in the system Taskarr, civilisation has collapsed. Taskarr II  was always cold, having only a narrow temperate zone at the equator, but was rich in minerals and the rarer elements. So it was worth colonising, but was dependent on the orbitals, its massive arcologies and the constant stream of starships and traders who exchanged its riches for wealth – and food. For the Taskarri, life was extraordinarily good.

Then came the collapse of the gate network, and Taskarr was isolated. As food ran low, the inhabitants of the planet tried to alter its climate, reclaim land and establish huge orbitals in a closer orbit around its star. But without the constant stream of incoming goods, they found themselves struggling to build the ships they needed, then struggling to maintain the shuttles and orbital elevators needed to escape to the orbitals, and then, as technology collapsed and food ran short, they found themselves struggling to survive. Their civilisation collapsed.

Now, their descendents live amidst the ruins of their once elegant cities and are forced to rely on the brutality and hunting capabilities of their local clan for survival. Life is precarious and each clan must fight its neighbours for resources, warm living space and precious farmland. The Taskarri have little choice in this way of life as groups smaller than the size of a clan rarely survive for long. The experiments in climate control have given rise to flora and fauna that have diversified and mutated in the harsh conditions on the planet: much local wildlife is now lethal.

The arrival of the Virai from T.O.R. 563/The City of Exile

When TOR 563 arrived, the Virai were quick to leave its embrace adn settle teh planet and the surrounding space. From the Virai’s perspective, such a world is ideal for building up their strength, especially with conflicting flotillas of Antarean-capable ships on its doorstep. The fact that feral humans are present is irrelevant, perhaps even an advantage as they can be used as a shield against the planet-destroying weapons of the advanced, biological civilisations. What there is, though, is a world with resources ripe for the taking.

The Virai were also fleeing the factions who were attacked T.O.R. 563 in an attempt to destroy them. The humans failed – and the Virai have spread elsewhere – but now there are wrecks orbiting the planet, another source of resources for teh Virai.