Helaerus III
| Name | Helaerus III |
|---|---|
| |
| Sub-Sector | Secundus |
| Type | Hive |
| Population | 12.2 Billion |
| Climate | Temperate |
| Status | Imperial Control |
About Helaerus III
The vast majority of the surface of Helaerus III is covered in a thick forest, covering 80% of the planet's landmass. However, due to the infrastructure present on Helaerus, the planet is classified as a Hive World. If it wasn’t for the well built hive cities and rapid transport links, Helaerus III would actually be classified as a Death World.
The population of Helaerus live inside one of several dozen hives, spread geometrically across the planet’s surface. Each city is linked via a series of rapid transport lines, built along geoformed earthworks, laid down by the planet's early colonists. Each transport link is a plascrete tunnel 5km wide which contains a dozen or so grav-lift train lines. The transport links are nearly perfectly straight, allowing the trains to reach speeds in excess of 1,000 km/h. Passengers are able to get from one hive to another in a couple of hours with relative com
The Hives of Helaerus are built into gigantic plascrete bowls, buried deep into the planet’s surface. These provided a solid foundation for the hives to build upon, but also limited their maximum size, forcing most of the Hives to grow higher than most hives on other planets. As per many other hives, the lower sections of the cities are devoted to manufacturing, and storage. These lower sections are also home to the many Hive Gangs that cause trouble for the Arbites. It is common for these gangs to try and attack transport trains as they approach the hive cities, or even midway along their routes.
The forests seem serene at first glance – yet, were it not for the stable hive arcologies on the planet, it would be classified a ‘death world’. Though the term applied to forested worlds summons up images dense living jungles where every inch of land is hostile to civilised life – like Vannin – Helaerus’s surface is a temperate coniferous forest, densely populated by vast evergreen steelwood trees. These trees are prized as a major export of the planet, but it is only possible with convoys of heavily armoured land crawlers to protect loggers – for on Helareus, every plant and animal is deadlier than it seems.
The single most important export of Helareus, the Steelwood tree has been known to grow to sizes of over 150m in height and 15m wide. However, their main feature is their incredible density, causing a single tree to have a weight of nearly 100,000 tons. Steelwood is relatively common on Helaerus, but is difficult to find and harvest due to the dangers present within the forest. Steelwood can be used to make a wide range of items and can be as strong and damage resistant as most steel products. It is seen as a sign of prestige and standing for a household to have a set of Steelwood knives in their kitchens.