Gal-Roka

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Gal-Roka
Gal-Roka Surface.png
The surface of one of Gal-Roka's many volcanic deserts
Astrography
Star Azamond A and B
Type Volcanic moon
Primary Aguu-Sar
Gravity 1.2G
Orbital distance 0.02 AU
Day length 14 days
Year length 14 days
Diameter 10,582 km
Axial tilt Zero
Atmosphere
Composition 72% nitrogen, 22% oxygen, 1% argon, trace carbon dioxide
Surface pressure 1.3 atm
Demographics
Polities Rithyar Blood Brotherhood
Population 3 billion (Rithyar, Ocharo, Vraptora, Larrax)
Imports Organic products, food
Exports Omni artifacts, starship components, deuterium

Gal-Roka is the largest moon of the water cloud gas giant Aguu-Sar, a planet that orbits the binary red dwarves Azamond A and Azamond B. Gal-Roka is home to the Rithyar, Ocharo and Vraptora species. The moon is well-known for being a major battleground during the Buyuk Empire’s war to exterminate the Omni.

History

The Azamond system was a site of experimental research by the Republic of the Omni at least five million years before the Battle of Domum Regimen. As they were expanding their empire, they were studying exobiology by observing how different alien life forms could survive in various solar system configurations. A gas giant moon located within the habitable zone of a binary MM pair was considered a rarity. As such, the Republic of the Omni heavily tampered with Gal-Roka’s natural evolution. It is known that the Rithyar, Ocharo and Vraptora all share a common ancestor, but the Omni Empire independently manipulated these species by uplifting them with their own technologies. As such, advanced technology factored into these species’ evolutionary paths.

Era of the Omni Empire

When Emperor Haraxa took over and rebranded the republic as the Omni Empire, the species of Gal-Roka were enslaved. Their technical skill and craftsmanship were considered superior to an average Omni, and thus, the moon was subjected to Omni rule while factories were created all throughout the moon’s surface and in orbit. Thus, most of the solar system’s other planets as well as most of Aguu-Sar’s moons were strip-mined to create not only ships but also one of the Omni Empire’s first ygsium particle accelerators. The first Omni-designed ygsium-powered jumpgate was also constructed at the outer edges of the system where it linked directly to the Omni homeworld of Kollha.

Fall to the Buyuk

Ten thousand years before the Battle of Domum Regimen, the Buyuk Empire - tasked with eradicating the Omni species- invaded the Azamond system intent on cutting off one of the Omni Empire’s major supply lines. The moon suffered a series of orbital bombardments and many EMP blasts that disabled many starships that were in orbit. Although the Omni surrendered themselves, approximately 20,000 Rithyar, Ocharo, Vraptora and Omni were hidden in cryopods set to awaken after the Buyuk invasion was over. Although the Buyuk occupied the moon for a few centuries, these cryopods were never discovered. The Buyuk would eventually abandon the moon when they were downsizing their numbers following the aftermath of the Omni extermination.

Aftermath

The cryopods eventually awakened and returned to the surface. The survivors discovered that the moon was littered with craters and starships that had crashed to the surface after decaying in orbit. The surviving Omni worked to restore Gal-Roka to a more habitable state. However, out of vengeance for being enslaved, the Rithyar, Ocharo and Vraptora wiped out the Omni population and reclaimed the moon for themselves. Their once advanced civilization eventually regressed to a scavenger culture where the survivors compete for resources by salvaging the starships and abandoned factories.

Rediscovery

Three thousand years before the Battle of Domum Regimen, an exiled Larrax prince named Tylos was marooned on Gal-Roka. In order to adapt to the barbaric, hostile environment, he allied with the Rithyar to eventually connect them to the wider galactic community. One of the wrecked Omni starships was retrofitted to serve as a herald of first contact with the likes of the Karnasians. It was around this time when Tylos began his ambitions to create a catalog of every sapient species and culture in the galaxy.

Orbit

Gal-Roka makes a full orbit around Aguu-Sar approximately every 14 days. Aguu-Sar in turn has a circumbinary orbit around Azamond A and B. The moon has a complex day and night cycle given that it gets completely eclipsed by Aguu-Sar during half of its orbital period. Gal-Roka also lacks an axial tilt meaning that it experiences one continuous season across the entire world.

Physical Characteristics

Gal-Roka is considered barely habitable. Though small in size, it’s high density and concentration of magnetic materials keeps a stable atmosphere. The moon endured intense tidal heating from its parent Aguu-Sar as well as gravitational tugging from another nearby moon Gal-Mytal. These combined effects create a highly volcanically active surface.

It is thought that Gal-Roka was originally a planet that was captured into Aguu-Sar’s orbit. Aguu-Sar is believed to have been an extrasolar capture that disrupted the orbital patterns of the other planets that formed naturally within the Azamond system.

Atmosphere

Gal-Roka’s is permanently covered in clouds which give off a red glow due to the faint light from Azamond A and B. As such, the stars are not visible from the moon’s surface. Even so, the surface is considerably bright even at night due to the clouds reflecting starlight.

The clouds are effective at insulating the moon from the deadly radiation that emits from its suns. The atmosphere is also rich in water vapor. Despite this, rainfall is incredibly rare, only occurring every ten years.

The moon is very volcanically active. More than 100 volcanoes erupt at any given time releasing volcanic ash and greenhouse gases regularly into the air.

Geography

Most of the moon is shaped by erupting volcanoes which spew out lava that forms vast plains of igneous rock. The moon has no oceans save for small scattered hotsprings and groundwater that has seeped to the surface.

Especially around the equator are hotspring wetlands. The crimson vegetation enjoys warm, sometimes boiling water that forms saltwater swamps.

The polar regions contain ice caps which hold most of the moon’s water. The volcanic activity of the planet creates meltwater lakes and rivers.

The geography was significantly altered when the Buyuk Empire assaulted an Omni colony that used to be on the moon. The remains of this ancient battle are found all over the moon’s surface as crashed starships and other wreckage have almost seamlessly blended into the terrain as the local ecosystem takes back control.