Tal system

Tal is a system on the edge of the Xi’An Empire and one which has been generally receptive to extended human presence. The entire planetary series is what the Xi’An call a ProductionSystem: every planet has been carefully planned and patterned as a specific work zone. Each inhabited world (Tal II through V) is filled with factories, refineries, food production domes and other facilities and each planet has a specific purpose in a larger production chain.

One visually surprising element of Tal is that the Xi’An love of large scale organization means that they have actually color coded their ProductionSystem worlds: EVERY structure on Tal II is a bright yellow, Tal III purple, Tal IV dark green and Tal V a burnt orange. Humans regularly express their disbelief that such a system is even possible, although it goes a long way to explaining why Xi’An frequently have trouble adapting to the chaos of human cities.

Although the actual system is far more complex than a simple summary can provide, merchants should know that Tal II produces large scale space fabrication, Tal III food and textiles, Tal IV processes hydrogen and antimatter and Tal V is responsible for end-stage processing of weapons. The Xi’An are happy to purchase raw materials for use on their factory planets and they sell surplus production runs at fair prices. It’s not the best place in the galaxy to score a deal, but dealing with the Xi’An is as close to being able to guarantee a small profit as you can find.

Tal I
A dwarf planet with a surface pockmarked by craters from mining probes. Though attempts have been made, no resources have yet been discovered.

Tal II (Oli'Sha)
Oli’Sha is the system’s technology hub. Its factories produce some of the most advanced ship parts in the universe. This terraformed terrestrial world has earned the nickname “The Hive” by Human visitors due to all the buildings being accented in yellow.

Tal III (Luk'Shi)
Luk’Shi is the Tal System’s cultural heart. Considered the most Human-friendly planet in the system, its vibrant culinary scene and textile industry draws a steady stream of visitors and traders to the planet. The Xi’An also use this naturally habitable world as a major agricultural production planet. Luk’Shi’s precisely cultivated countryside is beautiful to see from space but off-limits to visitors.

Tal IV (Lishahvu)
This naturally habitable terrestrial planet has trace amounts of acid in its atmosphere. For that reason, the Xi’An decided to limit the number of visitors to the planet and place large hydrogen and antimatter processing plants here, making Lishahvu an appealing destination for haulers but few others.

Tal V (Rhiorr)
Rhiorr is a terraformed terrestrial world with factories churning out advanced weapons for personal and ship armament. Even though it is technically a weapons planet, a strong military presence keeps crime to a minimum.

Tal VI
This super-Earth is too far away from the system’s star to sustain life, so since habitation was not an option, the planet’s vast resources reportedly have been mined clean by the Xi’An. Over the previous centuries its mineral deposits have provided resources for factories and facilities all around Tal.

Tal VII
A prismatic gas giant with four thick, colored bands of rolling clouds. The colors assigned to each of Tal’s inhabited planets come from the colors of these clouds.