Al Raqis: The Deep Desert

The Desert World of Al Raqis

The Fallen Hour materialized, and a simple scan of the outside reported an extremely arid atmosphere and soaring temperatures. Fortunately, I had just the thing to wear.

I had landed, apparently, on a barren desert world, but decided to explore it anyway. Things in the Linden Continuum are seldom as they appear. That truism proved correct again, as after wandering across the great wastes I discovered a very technologically advanced city.

A Settlement

The residents informed me I was on Al Raqis, a world which orbits "Lo Parabirra, one of the binary pair of stars in the Mu Draconis stellar region...Al Raqis is a dry and hostile environment. Water is almost as precious as the planet’s most sought-after mineral, Raqismanna, colloquially known as “the spice.” It was a valuable and highly contested world because of this rare commodity, and lay "at the border of several large star-faring empires, each claiming some right to the planet but most unable to back up their claim and take full control."

Independent prospectors search for this spice while factions compete for control of planetary and off world trade. Political and economic competition sometimes flares into open warfare all under the watchful eye of natives who want Al Raqis for Al Raqians.

The major political and social powers on Al Raqis are the Great Houses. These powerful corporate noble families obsess over economic dominance of interstellar commerce to finance their private troops, luxurious living, and ambitions to power. Each House has private armies and large off-world holdings including other planets.

I spent some time in the presence of a moderately successful spice prospector, who explained the complex political intrigues woven through Al Raqui life. I was also warned of the dangers of the desert, including hostile life forms. I had been extraordinarily lucky in getting there in one piece.

Fortunately, my host offered to return me to my ship via his prospecting ship the next day. After a pleasant evening, I returned to the Fallen Hour with every intention of returning to this world again.