Tairoa

Tairoa is the primary planet in the star system of the same name, nestled deep in Union territory between Caspia and Krittain. It possesses a noxious, abrasive atmosphere smothering a scoured, paltry terrain. Dust storms sweep the planet often, and geothermal vents spew geysers of ammonia and pulverized crystals.

Due to this inhospitability, the Caspian Navy treats Tairoa as an ideal training ground and testing region. Most of the new or refurbished starships conduct their star trials here, and the formidable conditions give Union Marines and specialized Provincial Army units quite a challenge to their environment-suit training regime. Even while protected in environment suits, soldiers and visitors are heavily advised not to remain unsheltered for more than twenty-four hours at a time. The airborne particles and chemicals are so abrasive, they have been documented to compromise even the most robust of suit material after a day or two. The only material that can withstand Tairoa's ferocity is a concrete comprised of its own pathetic soil and an imported resin catalyst. The Admiralty and the Groton Sciences Institute maintain a small outpost in the Mayhem Valley constructed of this material &mdash; known as Taikrete &mdash; and environmentally sealed.

Discussion has been raised about terraforming Tairoa for possible settlement, but in the galactic scheme of things, such an idea is dismissed for its cost prohibitiveness and resulting impact (the rewards would be meager, at best, and not realized for decades, if not centuries). As it stands, those few who staff the outpost on Tairoa are either affiliated with the military, with CDMC (conducting material and chemical research), or tapped for the forboding task of maintaining the SONG array equipment placed here.