Berro's World

Berro's World, also known as Saxshisst, is a minor military outpost best known as being the homeworld of the reptilian sharpheen.

## The System

Maridna is a Class F7 star located 1.3 parsecs from the outer edge of the Keyhole Nebula. As is typical for this stellar class it is considerably brighter and hotter than Sol. It is remarkably old and stable for its type, and is a useful navigational point throughout its sector.

Of the four worlds orbiting Maridna, only Berro's World is habitable. Maridna I is a Type I Vulcan planet with no atmosphere and a partially molten iron surface. Maridna II is a Type VI Gas Giant of 0.121 stellar masses. Berro's World is Maridna III, and Maridna IV is a Type III Venusian planet with a dense and toxic atmosphere.

While there are considerable iron and titanium deposits to be found on the moons of Maridna II, the system's location and limited Stellar-Grade infrastructure make mining the system impractical at this time.

## Planetary Characteristics

Berro's World is considerably larger than Earth (roughly 1.5 times the diameter), but has a low concentration of heavy metals, yielding a surface gravity of only 1.3 G. It travels in an unusually fast orbit for reasons that are not clear, completing a full revolution around Maridna in only 2/3 the time it takes Earth to traverse its own much shorter orbit. Gravitational influence from Maridna II is one possible cause. The local climate is uniformly hot and wet, averaging 22.3°C with over 70% humidity. This is actually very mild compared to other planets in the system. Berro's World has 2 moons, Ian and Yuri, which orbit in opposite directions for reasons that remain unclear. Ian, the larger of the two, is an irregular lozenge of around 9200 km in length; Yuri is a lump of stone about 7100 km across at its maximum.

The surface of Berro's World is primarily submerged under a global ocean of around 1.4 km average depth, considerably shallower than Earth's oceans. This accounts for over 87% of the planet's surface. The remaining surface area consists of low, swampy islands linked into long archipelagos. Due to oceanic currents the planet's climate is extremely uniform, with no significant difference between the poles and the equator and no discernible seasons. It rains on average 218 days of the year in any given location.

## History

Berro's World was discovered by Confederate Navigator Rei Berro in 2527 PC. Though initially considered a poor candidate for colonization, a United Stellar Confederate Naval installation was established there to monitor traffic through the Keyhole Nebula. Construction was completed in October of that year, initially housing 496 personnel.

The native sharpheen population, initially skeptical, began hunting raids against outpost personnel in the early months of 2528, leading to an increase in the security force to over 1,500 personnel. Conflict continued erratically until August of 2531, at which point most resistance from the local tribes had been defeated. Peaceful trade was later established as a means of gaining the local's trust, which proved highly effective.

In 2643 PC the native sharpheen were granted full citizenship into the United Stellar Confederacy, though they were not granted a seat on the ruling council.

The strategic importance of the Keyhole Nebula remains to this day, and the outpost on Berro's World has been expanded numerous times to its current level. The USCN outpost is the only Stellar-Grade settlement on the planet and is home to virtually all the planet's non-sharpheen population. It is considered a Class CC starport facility, able to service only lesser craft in small numbers.