1319 Hamagast E-6458BE-2 701 Na G1V
Hamagast
is the homeworld of the H'Mag, a race descended from avian/raptor stock, and
is currently ruled by the Emperor HanTenuTari, supported by a counsel Senate
with limited powers. The relatively low tech level for a known and visited 'home
world' is the result of centuries of belligerence toward outsiders, and the
fear by belief by many of the surrounding interstellar polities that H'Mag with
starships would be a plague on the general region. The world is neither interdicted
nor claimed by any power, but the Zhodani have left repeater satellites broadcasting
in a multitude of languages to warn of the general hostility of the locals.
Stories circulate in the star towns of the Avalar Consulate telling of the locals having turned on unwary traders, stolen their goods, and either killed or imprisoned them after talks had reached a high enough level of confidence to lower the guard of the visiting crew. The 'official' starport is little better, with bribery being a necessary prelude to avoiding physical abuse by the planet's police and customs officers. Those that resist are jailed indefinitely if lucky, and disappear entirely if not. Even if one manages to get through customs unscathed, the 'visitor approved' startown's shabby single story hotels will gouge the visitor out of every credit they perceive a visitor as having. Of course, they already know how much money visitors have, since all money has to be converted to local tender at a usurious rate of 65% conversion 'fee' at the first checkpoint off of the tarmac. Despite not being particularly 'xenophobic', the practices of the world's officials are more than enough to keep knowledgeable traders from ever entering the planet's atmosphere. They aren't afraid of outsiders, but neither are they at all friendly toward them.
Little is known of the politics, languages, or mannerisms of the people of Hamagast beyond a few old studies the Zhodani made when the planet was first contacted in the distant past, and translation chips for 'Hamagastian' are hard to come by anywhere but perhaps Shivva, where the research on Hamagast is archived.
As for the planet itself, most of the populace is centered around one mostly desert continent, though map comparisons show that as little as a millennia ago, most of the desert was once forest and prairie. The other two major landmasses seem little explored or even settled, and are covered in a variety of terrains, from badlands to extensive forest and even jungles. There are some signs that a prolonged ice age ended less than ten thousand years ago. The atmosphere, while a bit thin for some human tastes, is breathable, though tainted by a high amount of pollen 'fibers'. Much of Hamagast's bigger plant life (Wolwolf, Canasi Trees, Cottonberry) uses very fine, and in some cases microscopic, fibers to propagate via wind currents. During the local 'spring' seasons, one hemisphere will become increasingly deadly to life not originating on Hamagast, with the air filling with so many fibers that it sometimes creates a noticeable 'haze' obstructing vision. Even the H'Mag have resorted to covering themselves with masks with a strip of damp cloth when going out during the worst days of the season, though the rain does do a good job of cleaning the air.