Aarl

A small Elbaari colony in the Xikos Sector of Freespace that began life as a mine and agriculture world in cooperation with the Shralatarian in 2810, but after a failed attempt at terraformation and the start of what became known as the Bolaana Wars after major taxes on the vegetable that affected trade between the species, the colony declined, but some locals remained and the planet became a black market tradeworld and pirate hideaway.

Overview
Aarl is a small, dusty, moonless world with flat dustpans, mountains and deep gorges, varying arid, temperate and freezing polar zones where Sharalatrian mines can be found, and orbits an orange star known as Raalanasan. It is dotted with abandoned mining and farming facilities and disused Elbaari military bases that have become trade ports and small towns as well as several hypercom and subspace relay stations that pirates and crime-lords use to mask and send coded messages.

While most of Aarl is defined by its lack of water, In the far southeast of its lower southern hemisphere there are several large alkali lakes and many smaller pools, noxious steam vents and a large underground volcano system known as The Throat that blankets the area in a permanent toxic fog, but journeys to these lakes to filter drinkable water are common by some of the more permanent colonists, and often send machines and robots, however some do not return and some tell tales of unusual creatures that can withstand or maybe even dependent on the toxic atmosphere in the area.

Life
The planet has hardy native flora and fauna that colonists often hunt, although the creatures are often no bigger than a fox and its plant life mostly underground.