Roscessa VII
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Roscessa VII is a tidally locked planet on the outer reaches of the Shackleton Expanse and characterized by extreme temperature variations between the hemispheres. This has led to the development of two distinct cultures.
Overview
Roscessa VII is orbiting the red dwarf Roscess. Due to this, the planet's rotation has been synchronised by strong tidal forces, causing permanent hemispheric day and night.
Day Side
On the Day Side, Roscess hangs fixed in the sky, glowing dim red compared to Sol. Temperatures are warm but stable due to the dense atmosphere, shallow oceans, and moderate storms that redistribute heat and regulate temperature.
Cities are built within the cooler microclimates created by fertile valleys, forests, mountains, and hills, allowing the natives living on this side of the planet to thrive.
The Rosca (Day Side)
On the Day Side, Roscess hangs fixed in the sky, glowing dim red compared to Sol. Temperatures are warm but stable due to the dense atmosphere, shallow oceans, and moderate storms that redistribute heat and regulate temperature.
The Rosca are the humanoid species native to the Day Side of Roscessa VII with light, reflective skin to deflect excessive heat while still absorbing some energy. Their eyes are larger and more sensitive than human eyes, and are able to perceive infrared.
Due to the constant daylight, a circadian rhythm and the distinction between day and night are entirely absent.
Cities are built within the cooler microclimates created by fertile valleys, forests, mountains, and hills, allowing the natives living on this side of the planet to thrive.
Society is organized in professional guilds, such as explorers, traders, and scholars, replacing the usual idea of a family unit. Guilds can be chosen freely, though individuals traditionally follow the female parents' footsteps.
Culturally, they focus on science and exploration, regarding curiosity as a civic duty. Through the development of ships with solar sails, they were able to establish flourishing trade with other planets within the star system.
They do, however, not voluntarily interact with the Night Side, and records of their shared past have been destroyed centuries ago.
The Ry’kol (Night Side)
The Night side is defined by eternal darkness and fixed stars overhead. Without direct exposure to the red dwarf, the surface consists of icy sheets, frozen deserts and there is no open liquid water. It is dominated by geothermal-adapted species.
The only source of warmth is volcanic fissures that release steam from the planet's molten core.
The Ry’kol, native to this side of the planet, live in subterranean tunnels and near the fissures and rarely venture outside. In appearance and biology, they are indistinguishable from the Rosca, but utilize hermetically sealed environmental suits whenever venturing outside their subterranean habitats. As such, their appearance remains unknown to those outside their community.
Society on the Night side is communal but strongly regulated. Families are headed by a matriarch, and kin live in close proximity to each other, if not under the same roof. Each matriarch sits on a council that dictates the Ry’kols’ way of life, ensuring both survival and harmony.
Decisions are guided by practicality - which professions are most needed at a given time, how many offspring each family unit may produce, and how resources are distributed among households.
Raids on Day-Side settlements are carefully planned and masterfully executed. Individuals participating in those raids rise in social status within their families and society as a whole, and those who do not return are mourned by the whole community.
Encounters
These encounters are a scenario and inherent to the AOR.
- Upon visiting, Starfleet is asked to assist the Rosca in combating a local threat - raiders from the Night Side are attacking settlements located near, or at, the terminator zone. While the Rosca ask for weapons and protection, Starfleet opts for negotiation hosted aboard the visiting vessel.
- Surprisingly, the appearance of the Night Side humanoids is indistinguishable from the Rosca. Scans confirm: they are, indeed, the same species.
- It is revealed that the Rosca, centuries ago, exiled individuals deemed to possess ‘aggressive tendencies’, not expecting them to survive the harsh reality of the Night Side. Records of this, however, have largely been destroyed. While leaders of the Rosca are aware of this, the general population and the Ry’kol are not.
- Starfleet must find an amenable solution - or pick a side.
In Play
- The Rosca are a deeply curious species while the the Ry’kol, having to focus on survival rather than exploration of any kind, are more reserved and may come across as hostile towards other cultures and species.
- Visiting the Night Side is entirely possible, but the well below freezing temperatures require specialized equipment.
- The resolution of the scenario is entirely up to the player.