Xis

Xis (Zice) is the reason for the Kellog system’s unusually high insurance rating (for a system with a distinct UEE presence). The planet is dotted with deep, multi-canopied jungles with a biodiversity that rivals anywhere in the galaxy. From a warm sea that is home to ten-foot crab monsters to rainforests that play host to millions of insects, primates and, most famously, Flo-Pets. Few can forget the Flo-Pet craze of the previous decade: the unusual animal best described as a cross between a housecat and a jellyfish was all the rage on Earth, with the rich and powerful desperate to collect and breed them to show off their bejeweled internals. Kellog II was their point of origin, where the first of their kind was captured by an intrepid privateer who initially believed they might be as delicious as they look. (Further study has definitively established that Flo-Pets are not edible.) Interest in the creatures has fallen off, and the offspring of those initial creatures can now be found inhabiting the sewers of every significantly developed world. Visiting Xis is also strictly forbidden: the UEE Subcommittee for Development & Expansion (SDE) has identified the planet as a Developing World, citing the existence of the Orms, a primitive hominid-like species centered near the planet’s north polar regions. Orms have, in the past three hundred years, begun to develop more complex social interaction schema and extremely primitive stone age tool use. Although their culture is of interest to scientists (who sometimes buy equipment and preserved food depending on the season — aim for “winter”) the Orms themselves are not worthy of note for traders: they produce nothing valuable and they, themselves, are not civilized enough for use as labor. The black market, however, is rampant. Although the planet is protected by a web of reconnaissance satellites, the UEE generally lacks the ability or the interest in properly policing the orbit. Incursions made without the proper amount of stealth are recorded and can harm a pilot’s citizen rating in the long run … but there is little danger of running afoul of orbital batteries or encountering a stray destroyer squadron.