Thalor System

Thalor, also known as Thalor V, is located within the Shackleton Expanse. The Thalor system is home to six worlds, including the oceanic Thalor V. Early investigations suggest the system to be uninhabited: Thalor V appears lifeless, a barren globe sheathed in ice. Below that surface, however, oceans remain liquid and support a thriving, complex biosphere.

Overview

Thalor V’s surface is almost entirely covered in frozen water, the ice giving the impression of a desolate, uninhabited world. Atmospheric conditions are thin but stable, allowing limited visibility and navigation across the ice sheets. The surface shows no sign of settlement, and its rugged terrain offers little of value beyond scientific curiosity.

Beneath the ice, however, lies an ocean warmed by geothermal activity. Initial scans suggest a vast and interconnected biosphere, ranging from simple microorganisms to complex, large-scale marine life. Subsurface caverns filled with liquid provide habitats close to the underside of the ice, while deeper currents sustain entire food chains. The oceans are layered and diverse, with ecological niches unlike any found in Federation records.

The greatest challenge in exploring Thalor V is in reaching its depths. Thick ice obstructs scans and access requires drilling or breaching natural fissures. Once beneath, conditions remain dangerous: pressure increases, limited visibility, and life-forms that have adapted in ways that defy easy prediction.

Encounters

Any or several of these plot hooks can be used for a mission on Thalor. Some are mutually exclusive; it is down to the writer to select and use these (or not):

• Heat Anomaly: Thermal scans detect a concentrated hotspot far below the ocean floor, too intense to be explained by geothermal activity alone. It may be volcanic, artificial, or more...
• Local Hazard: A sudden icequake fractures the crust, opening a fissure that leads to the oceans below. It may offer rare access, but is also a threat to surface operations.
• Intelligent Life: Sonar-like pulses echo through the depths in repeating patterns, raising the possibility that one of Thalor’s lifeforms may possess sapience.
• Rescue: A Starfleet, Klingon, or Romulan ally - or rival - investigated Thalor V first, only for a ship or team to become trapped in the ice or below the surface, and have sent a distress call.
• Riches of Thalor: Klingons, Romulans, or another Shackleton Expanse power have arrived, deciding that Thalor V is rich in a resource they want (perhaps with pockets of deuterium-laden water). Their exploitation may threaten the biosphere’s delicate balance, however.

In Play

• Thalor V is a setting for exploring a hidden, alien ecosystem. Writers may choose what kind of life thrives here, from scientifically fascinating fauna to intelligent marine life to dangerous, vast predators adapted to eternal darkness.
• The nature of Thalor V’s mysteries are for the holder of the AOR to define.
• Access to the biosphere is difficult and dangerous, and storms, icequakes, or fissures can complicate both orbital survey and surface landing.