Planet Profile - Pokitaru

  * I own nothing seen below. Credit goes to Insomniac and the equally awesome people who did the rest of the pictures. If I forgot about someone then credit goes to you. 
Battleground Planet: Pokitaru
Status: Beach Paradise World… mostly

Geographical Features:
-Pokitaru is a very small tropical world willed with oceans and islands. It has a very slow rotation speed, with 24 hours of continuous sunshine followed by 24 hours of beautiful starry nights. While some islands are bigger then others, there really aren't many huge central land masses to speak of.

The islands themselves are all tropical in nature. The edges of the islands have soft sand, and moving inward you find green grass and swaying palm trees. There are some mountains, partially green with moss, and some of those mountains have waterfalls that flow directly into small crystal pools, or more commonly back into the ocean.

The islands are all separated by crystal clear, low salt content water. The water is so clear that on some days you can practically see the bottom of the ocean even at its deepest points. Travel between islands is usually done via a large motorboat like platform that can move across the sea at a swift pace.

Most of the structures on the planets are all vacation based (hotels, restaurants, motels, day spas, cinemas, etc.), as Pokitaru is first and foremost a luxury resort planet. As space on the islands can be considered to confining depending on what island you're on, some cities have taken to building their structures on raised platforms, which are supported by thick rods that go all the way down the ocean's seabed.

Pokitaru doesn't have much in the way of weapons. What they do have though, are fighter jets. Some of the larger resorts have access to a single one-man fighter jet, which is capable of achieving speeds just below Mach 1, possess twin high caliber machine guns, and ten missiles. That said, expect them to be low in number (I'd wager less then a thousand overall), and each can only be accessed by a high-ranking employee… and even then there is no guarantee that they'd know how to use it. Though these employees could be persuaded to let someone else take it if they thought the person they were giving it too could use it, and would help them.

Sadly, this lack of defense is what caused the biggest problem Pokitaru has ever faced, and one they would very much like to live down and forget.

See, Pokitaru is located in the Solana Galaxy; a galaxy which happened to be invaded by the Blarg, a race hoping to create a new world by ripping chunks off of other planets to make a new home for themselves. During their campaign, the Blarg's war machine generated a lot of chemical waste and garbage. With no place to dump it, the Blarg decided to just make the nearest planet a garbage heap. That planet was Pokitaru.

Thus, millions of gallons of highly radioactive chemical sludge was dumped into the waters of the defenseless island paradise. Though the trash was later removed, and the Blarg dumping ships destroyed and driven off by outside sources (some say a single well armed Lombax), the damage from the chemicals was done.

For though the water remained as clear and calm as ever, the wildlife did not remain so passive. The chemicals caused radical mutations in the local fish, turning them into ravenous mutants and almost caused the resort to shut down. Many tourists were forced to flee, or become lunch. Though these mutants have been beaten back, and the resort has been reopened (with claims that the problem has been solved and that there is nothing to worry about any more) they are always lurking on the outskirts of the islands or in the deeper parts of the sea; watching… waiting.

Third Party Factions: 2

--The Natives & Tourists:

(Typical Native… though this picture is of one of the Resort owners).

The island natives (who tend to the various businesses) and the aliens who come here (and they are all from various walks of life, from shockingly human-looking to freakishly monstrous) are all peaceful, and are just looking for a good time. All of them are citizens and very few would know how to operate anything more complicated then the simplest blaster… which you may be hard pressed to find, unless the guests brought it themselves.

--Wildlife: As always, the wildlife on this planet can be a bit of a nuisance, especially since turning into flesh hungry mutants. They tend to inhabit the more reclusive places of Pokitaru. The sandy hideaways of an island, the water just the bottom of a waterfall, etc. Most have become amphibious, and can attack on land to surprise unwary tourists or hapless employees. They prefer night, when their movements are less easily noticed, but they are just as likely to attack in broad daylight. Unless directly forced to, the Natives of Pokitaru will deny the existence of such creatures or any death that they may cause for fear of loosing business (though even if forced, there honestly isn't much they can do about them).

---Puffer Fish:

Bouncing fish with sharp needles all over their bodies. They apparently weren't originally aggressive, but thanks to the toxic sludge that polluted the waters, their mutated forms attacked anything that moved. When attacking their target, they inflate themselves, making their needles stand out more prominently, and launch themselves at their target. Mostly these are found on land, and are no larger then a beach ball. However, the ones that are found farther away from the islands grow large enough to swallow a man whole in one gulp.

---Psytopus:

These squidlike monsters are found throughout the sandy shores of Pokitaru. These were once mild sea creatures, but the sludge in the oceans have made them extremely territorial. If they notice anyone, they create a powerful energy bomb using their minds. These attacks are very accurate, and the creatures are very powerful. More frighteningly though, they seem to be gaining intelligence, and some have been noted as being able to speak and use simple tools. How this evolution will pan out is unknown at this time…

---Scuttle Crab:

Scuttle crabs are medium-sized, blue, one-eyed crabs found on the beaches and forest floors of Pokitaru. Like the other creatures, the scuttle crabs have grown in size due to the Blargs' waste dumping. They attack in groups using their large pincers, but each can be easily dispatched with a single forceful blow.

---Pool Shark:

Pool Sharks (which tend to be roughly the size of small car) thrive in the deep waters of Pokitaru, eating foolish swimmers who ventured to far from shore. Their quick speed underwater, as well as their thick skin makes them far hard to damage, much less kill. Thankfully, they are unable to come on dry land.

---Hydra:

There are rumors of a massive seafaring predator native to Pokitaru with massive flippers and three heads filled with teeth. It is unknown if or how it was affected by the Blarg dumping, or if it exists at all. However, some natives swear they have seen a massive… something move beneath the waters, just out of view when they turn to look. More practical evidence are Pokitaru sea-transport vessels that never arrive to their destination, and wreckage later recovered tends to have their passengers missing and large bite marks on it…

Still, no one has ever seen the creature, so maybe they're just overreacting, right? Right?! 

Danger Status: 2.5-3/5

Overall, Pokitaru really is a beautiful relaxing planet filled with tons of natural resources. The people are decent and nearly everyone who goes there has a good time.

That said, swimming can be very hazardous to your health, and exploring the outskirts of most islands is probably a bad idea too. Unlike the natives the mutants aren't so much 'friendly' as they are 'hungry'.

Still, those are easy rules to follow right? And if you do follow them, you won't experience any… unpleasantness. That would be such a shame, because after all, Pokitaru is one of the nicest most relaxing places in the galaxy. Everyone knows that, and if the natives have their say, that's all they'd prefer their planet to be known as.