244Core

244Core, formerly Sraato, was an arid planet in the Unknown Regions known for its abundant and seemingly limitless resources.
==Description==
A treasury world, 244Core became legendary in the Unknown Regions for its abundance of raw ores and minerals, and was particularly rich in precious metals. The planet was so saturated with deposits that even after centuries of mining by corporations, 244Core showed barely any mineral depletion. This was largely due to the planet's high gravity and orbiting trio of large asteroid clusters, which caused highly active meteoric weather whose impacts remineralized the planet's surface.
This weather ranged from periodic to seasonal, and varied in intensity. For instance, meteorite storms were periodic and frequent, consisting of smaller meteorites that would burn up in the atmosphere and then strike the surface in a hail of tiny burning rocks, posing a significant threat to individuals as they struck the ground with the force of a bullet.
Meteor showers, in comparison, were less frequent and seasonal, but were much more dangerous; these rocks were often larger than those found in meteorite storms, and a fair number would fail to burn up in re-entry, striking the surface of the planet with sufficient force to level buildings. During the meteor shower season starships passing through the upper atmosphere had to contend with multitudes of burning and exploding rocks - making travel difficult and extremely dangerous.
Meteoric weather made life on 244Core harsh and dangerous, and many settlements were located underground as protection from errant meteor strikes. This weather made 244Core an arid planet with little to no fauna, with 244Core having hardy scrub vegetation that was dense in the lowlands, which thinned out quickly at higher elevations. These conditions were compounded by the planet's higher gravity; it was much harder to carry objects and perform strength-related tasks - and even simple things like walking and lifting one's arms felt more laborious.
==Government==
244Core was controlled by corporations through a tenuous power-sharing agreement, and had no strong central government; corporate control of the planet instead shifted regularly as corporations vied for power, with no single company ever being large enough to hold control over the planet for too long. The planet was nominally led by a Chief Administrator, who was elected by the Corporate Committee, a group made up of representatives of every company operating on 244Core.
This arrangement resulted in constantly shifting power-sharing deals and complex profit-sharing schemes, where political intrigue, industrial espionage, sabotage, smuggling around treaty obligations and taxes, skimming, and all other matters of bending and breaking the rules to gain advantages over competitors became the norm. Despite this, controlling companies typically avoided open violence whenever possible, as open warfare in the past had disrupted operations on all sides to the point of near bankruptcy.
Aside from the corporations, there were no government regulations to protect workers - only employers' agreements. Employees typically had to gain leverage by threatening to work for a competitor, a practice that corporations took a dim view of as it was seen as jumping ship. Despite this, the practice happened regularly, and talented and valued workers could demand high salaries; such employees often became pawns and bargaining pieces in dealings between competing corporations.
Overall, 244Core's labor force was limited, and was too small for all the jobs required; mercenaries, pilots, smugglers, and others with technical skills were regularly hired as contract workers, corporations providing low pay but plenty of basic necessities.
==History==
Fifty years before the outbreak of the Jedi Civil War, the Systino Crime Syndicate stumbled across the uncharted world of 244Core; recognizing the wealth and advantages the planet would bring them, the Systino shipped hundreds of slaves to the planet to open mines on the southern continent, where a large deposit of precious metals, crystals and gems was located. Backed by this secret treasury world, they named it Sraato, or "center of wealth," and expanded their syndicate's reach dramatically through bribery, corruption, and the purchase of better ships and weapons. Over the next two hundred years the Systino operation would eventually spread across the southern continent, across island chains, until it reached the southern pole. It was only until a massive meteor storm pulverized the planet's southern hemisphere, throwing dust and debris into the atmosphere and causing an environmental collapse, that the Systino would be forced to abandon the planet.
For the next five hundred years the planet remained unstable, and though occasional treasure hunters would arrive - none were able to turn the planet into a viable commercial concern, and all eventually abandoned the world. During this period 244Core gained its reputation and legendary status as a world of impossible wealth.
In 200 BBY the world was rediscovered by competing scouts, dispatched by rival mining and manufacturing companies. Both Tor-Ro-Bo Industries and Eeook Mining and Reclamation claimed the planet as their own, quickly establishing settlements and mining operations to back up their assertions. Undermining each others operations and struggling to grasp ultimate control over the planet, the two corporations failed to stop other companies from gaining footholds elsewhere on the planet as a rush for planetary control ensued. Profits and operations proportionally began to plunge and companies headed towards bankruptcy as all out warfare took its toll and total chaos loomed.
It took a skilled negotiator and member of the Omenada force tradition named Relaali (for whom the city of Relaali would later be named) to broker a deal between the rivaling corporations; Relaali was successful in negotiating the formation of a Corporate Committee made up of representatives of every company operating on 244Core, as well as the establishment of a Chief Administrator to nominally rule. Since no agreement on the name of the world could be reached, the planet was instead named 244Core after its local stellar catalogue number. In the following years, conflict was sparse to non-existent, with rival organizations instead scheming and plotting to gain controlling interest in the world through political intrigue and industrial espionage.
Near the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war, another meteor storm struck 244Core. Daily meteor rains over the next months severely affected most mining facilities, though an environmental chaos of past times did not occur again. A new order emerged on 244Core when the Eeook Corporation, successor to Eeook Mining and Reclamation, consolidated its operations in the south and established a security force to protect its holdings. With law and order deteriorating and violence erupting, Eeook began to take over the rest of the planet slowly while the remaining companies continued to battle politically and physically in the major population centers of the rest of the world.
==Cities==
Relaali, the traditional capital of 244Core, was a large city situated in Zone One, and was surrounded by mines, company-owned living quarters, three major ground and speeder transportation hubs, and the largest spaceport on the planet. Eeookko was one of the most prominent and profitable cities in the entire southern hemisphere, and was located in the center of a massive ore rich crater in Zone 210.
==Sources==
*The Unknown Regions 
==Notes and references==
Category:High-gravity planets
Category:Unknown Regions planets