Outreach

Outreach
The planet Outreach is the second of five planets in a system of the same name, located between Falleen and Rodia on the other side of the Corellian Trade Spine. Formerly tagged as system M-1819 by the Fourth Alderaanian Expedition nearly a millennia ago, the galactic expansion had come and gone, seeing nothing more than another unremarkable system. MMA, looking at its location close to a galactic trade route, saw opportinuty, and began exploration efforts. Once a habitable planet was found, construction efforts began, building support and training facilities, commercial complexes, everything needed to support a corporate headquarters.

The Planet
Outreach is roughly Coruscant-sized in terms of diameter, daily rotation, and yearly revolutions. However, the surface is seventy-five percent water, with the remaining twenty-five percent split into two continents. Romulus, the smaller continent, is home to almost all of Outreach's inhabitants, which include MMA personnel, their families, and various merchants, tradesmen, and others who have chosen to make the planet their home. The second and larger continent, Remus, is the private domain of MMA and contains our best training facilities and a number of manufacturing and research plants, which are the primary reasons for the tight restrictions on the airspace above the planet. The climate is varied according to location, with a number of different topograhies ranging from forested to plains, from mountains to lowlands, and arctic to a very small tropical region.

The native animals include a variety of herbivores, some suitible for herding. A number of predators also exist, some of which are hostile and aggressive enough to be dangerous to the unwary explorer. The flora is almost universally inedible to the human palate, some poisonous enough to cause outright death, though the few specimens that are consumable are highly nutritious.

Harlech
Harlech is the planetary capital. Nearly half of Outreach's population lives in and around this city. It is located near the northwest coast of Romulus, sandwiched between a large freshwater lake called Lake Herakles, the largest body of fresh water onplanet, and a steep bluff known as The Ridge, the endpoint of the mountain range that bisects the continent. Because few major storm systems cross the mountains, Harlech enjoys enough rain to keep it green, but not enough to make it unpleasant. The average temperature in Harlech is 84 degrees Fahrenheit (29 degrees Celsius), making the waterfront a popular destination to beat the heat.

There is a complete open-door policy in the city; anyone is welcome (provided they get past the system checkpoints, that is). Harlech is home to three interstellar-class starports, which facilitate easy commercial movement of goods without interfering with civilian transportation. Points of interest include The Center, the seat of planetary authority; Cat Hall, MMA's corporate headquarters; the Merchant's Sector, the Agro Sector, and the Dark Quarter. The city also boasts an extensive public transportation system comprising hoverbuses, maglev trains, and subways to easily move people around.

The Merchant's Sector is Outreach's commercial hotbed. Taking up most of the the southeast part of the city, one can find a plethora of shops, stores, and boutiques, each offering items from vendors around the galaxy. Tourists and traders flock to this area in search of exotic goods. This area has its own starport for easy commercial flow.

The northwest part of the city borders on the lake, and it is therefore no surprise that the area is the prime entertainment and tourist area. Various and sundry activities are offered there, from recreational waterspeeder rides on the lake to underwater excursions to the nearby Western Sea or intracontinental trips to resorts in other parts of the continent. Once again, this area has it's own starport to allow easy movement of people.

The southwestern part of the city is unremarkable, containing most of the corporate and governmental facilties. The northeastern part, however, is home to what has come to be known as the Dark Quarter. First named because it was the last part of the city to be exposed to daylight, nestled up against The Ridge as it is, the nickname soon took an ominous turn. Harlech's open door policy attracted all manner of desperate and destitute individuals, as well as smugglers, mercenaries, and other fringe types. Knowing that such elements were inevitable, instead of stamping them out, city officials focused on keeping it contained, and have for largely succeeded. The Dark Quarter is home to all manner of bars, brothels, black market dealers, and other less-respectable establishments. Tourists looking for a thrill, smugglers looking for a cargo, and desperate men looking for a quick fix are often found here. Of all the areas of the city, it is also the most well-defined, since the borders of the Dark Quarter are patrolled by armed squads of MMA soldiers in full battle armor. There is basically no law in the 'Quarter, save what law the criminals choose to uphold. If disputes or fights show signs of spilling out into the rest of the city, however, or if large-scale property destruction is threatened, the soldiers are quick to intervene. There is a 'gray area' along the borders where more upscale but still slightly disreputable establishments linger, but the most malignant elements are well-contained in the Dark Quarter. To avoid exposing the rest of incoming travelers to those that frequent the 'Quarter, a small spaceport was built there.

The Agro Sector is not, in actuality, part of the city, but comprises a large part of the surrounding area and produces the vast majority of Outreach's crops and foodstuffs.

The Outback
The nickname for Remus, the second continent of Outreach, it is home to a vast array of training areas, manufacturing plants, and research labs. Access to the continent is highly restricted; rare is the outsider invited or allowed to train at the facilities there, and civilians are never allowed except in the most extreme circumstances. Full data is classified and unavailable to all but a select few outsiders. Any ship headed towards the continent is intercepted.

Hyperion, Hermes, and Hephaestus Stations
Most incoming traffic typically passes by the custom-built station Hephaestus, located along the easiest approach to the planet. Serving both as an out-system guardian and repair depot, the station has few amenities but features a fully-equipped drydock of a kind normally found only at shipyards and bristles with a large complement of weaponry.

All incoming ships are required to check in at Hermes station, another custom-built facility that is in geostationary orbit over the main city of Harlech. Outfitted as a customs and recreationary facility with a secondary role of defense, this station is packed with recreational and entertainment facilities, lodgings, customs scanners and checkpoints, and luxurious appointments. Few areas of the station are off limits and those that are typically have to do with defense points or areas crucial to station upkeep where tourists typically avoid anyways. Once cleared by Hermes station, ship crews can stay aboard the station, shuttle down, or take their own ship to the surface.

Hyperion station is locked in a geostationary orbit over Remus, the second continent. Its function is purely defense and traffic control; the airspace over the continent is restricted, and sensor scans prohibited. Incoming vessels must swing wide of the restricted zone. This causes some difficulties and has generated a few complaints, but for the most part people understand. The station bristles with weaponry and sensor nets; any unauthorized vessel entering its zone of control is immediately confronted. Any military unit invited to train at MMA facilities must first dock here as well.

Entry Procedures
For the protection of visitors, MMA closely monitors all incoming traffic and restricts system transit to several specified lanes. All incoming ships are subject to a customs inspection at either Hephaestus or Hermes station, although the procedure is typically more a formality than a rigorous search. Personal weaponry is allowed, and if the visitor has plans to enter the Dark Quarter, actually encouraged, although units invited to train at Outreach must transfer their vehicles to MMA craft for transport down to the surface. Ships appearing at nonstandard entry points must approach Outreach at nothing more than point Three sublight, broadcast an identification signal and a request for immediate inspection. Any ship not complying with these guidelines is considered hostile and subject to attack. Similarly, the space over the continent of Remus is restricted and sensor scans of the continent prohibited. Any unauthorized vessel entering the airspace or directing sensor focuses on the continent will be labeled hostile and destroyed.