Harthoe

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Harthoe is a volcanic planet located in the Serpentis Spiral Arm of the galaxy. It has a high-temperature, high-pressure climate as a result of volcanic activity, and much of the planet’s surface is marked by lava flows and fields.

Harthoe is home to a species of near-microscopic insects know as Ceritians, which feed on certain minerals found in the planet’s lava flows. As a form of excrement, these Ceritians produce Crystal Cerite in the cracks and folds of lava, which is disguised from predators due to its geometric structure resembling that of the rock itself. Some speculate that the variety of colours found in Crystal Cerite is influenced by the light from Harthoe’s local star, but this has not yet been proven.

As part of Project Centennial, Harthoe was visited by Centurion 7, who initially hypothesised that the Cerite formed as a result of the planet’s climate, before identifying the Ceritians. Harthoe was later visited by Crystal Cerite miners such as Allard and Zell, who discovered the Compass Rose Cerite growing under a stone outcropping which had split a lava flow. The miners used shield suits to protect themselves against Harthoe’s searing heat and airborne ash and smoke.

Harthoe is also the home planet of a winged creature known as the Magmic Batfinch.

Harthoe was ultimately destroyed outright when the ViCorp orbital rig *Lodestone*, the headquarters for ViCorp’s Crystal Cerite mining operations on the planet, activated its AIM Drive and impacted the planet’s surface at faster-than-light speed. This caused Harthoe’s volatile crust to split apart, and the planet disintegrated in under two hours, with no recorded survivors.

Officially, Harthoe’s destruction was determined to be the result of a malfunction aboard the *Lodestone*, with numerous charges of negligence leveled against ViCorp. However, some rumours suggested that jealous collectors of Crystal Cerite antiquities may have arranged the disaster with the help of the Montreau Conservatory, whose agents were allegedly seen aboard the rig shortly before the malfunction. Harthoe’s destruction caused the value of Crystal Cerite to skyrocket, as there was no other known source of the mineral in the galaxy. Later, in an extended spotlight interview conducted by the AlTime News Channel in 2270, Baroness Dorn Oramande would claim that the Aglostarros University Museum's allegations that she had been in some way responsible for the Harthoe tragedy were slanderous.

Approximately one month after the destruction of Harthoe, the Aglostarros University Museum established the ARK Mandate in direct response to the cataclysm. The Mandate had the state mission goal of “preserving and protecting the rare and unique”, to ensure that the loss of valuable scientific specimens caused by events such as the Harthoe incident could be mitigated in future.

Curiously, the edition of the Weru Star Almanac held in AUM's Project Centennial exhibition is for the year 2260, approximately seven years before the commercialisation of faster-than-light travel in the Coreworlds. This can easily be recognised by the relatively limited reach of the Coreworlds Conglomerate’s territory and the presence on the map of planets such as Harthoe and Cameyn, which have since been destroyed. Consequently, the Museum sought a more current edition of the Almanac for comparison.