Adhomai
Ahdomai (major planet designation 1345 Adhomai) is the fourth planet from S'rendarr and the home planet of the Tajara. It is a cold and icy world, suffering from almost perpetual snowfall and extremely low temperatures. Adhomai is the only habitable world in its system and is composed mostly of rock and ice, and has a mass one quarter larger than Earth's. Adhomai was discovered in 2414 by a Sol Union funded expedition and has been classified as the third largest planet in its home system of S'rand'marr.
Climate
Adhomai is a planet that is characterized by it's harsh winters and barely noticeable summers. Out of all four seasons, winter lasts the longest due to the planet's distance from the system's suns as well as the tilt of the axis. Heavy snowfall is the norm on Adhomai, with uncolonized areas suffering from an overabundance of 'snow drifts', making travel difficult without motorized or animal assistance. The harshest winters and strongest blizzards are found near the poles of the planet, with the warmest weather being found closer to the equator; very few areas on Adhomai are prone to the melting of snow at the height of summer, and most of them are located on the equatorial line.
The temperature regularly dips well below the freezing point in human measurements and rarely ever goes over. The lowest temperature ever recorded was a record low of negative one hundred and eighty two degrees fahrenheit. Though Tajaran are more insulated against the cold and have evolved to handle it, they are by no means immune to its effects. The same can be said of Adhomai's native fauna, though to a lesser extent.
Only fourty-two percent of Adhomai's surface in covered in water, and the surface is permanently frozen. Rather, the majority of the planet's landmass is graced with high-rising mountain ranges that are comprised of tough minerals, fighting a constant battle with Adhomai's high winds against erosion. The highest peak on Adhomai comes in shy of Olympus Mons by about seventy thousand feet, and the pressure at the peak is too little to survive without special equipment.
Flora & Fauna
Most of the life on Adhomai has evolved to compensate for the extreme weather conditions as well as low temperatures. The smallest animal recorded matches the size of a sheep; small animals lose body heat too quickly and would quickly find themselves defeated by Adhomai's low temperatures. Rather, the majority of animal life has been noted to have thick layers of fur or fat as insulation, with hibernation cycles similar to the bears of Earth. Further, very little animal life is bipedal; rather, to avoid damage from the unforgiving winds, almost all animals have evolved to be quadrapedal. It is thought that at one point in the Tajaran evolution the species was quadrapedal, but how they came to be bipedal has not been explained.
Plant life, similarly, has evolved to combat the freezing temperatures. Insulated much like their animal cousins, plant cells are reinforced to prevent the water in their systems from freezing and thus kill the plant itself. As Adhomai is distant from the system's sun, less light is needed for photosynthesis and given the rich mineral make up of the planet, there is plenty in the frozen soil to live off of. Non-Tajaran have noted that plants used in Tajaran dishes are exceptionally chewy and tough, almost like a piece of meat.
Very few fauna roam the snowdrift hills of the planet; pachiderm-like creatures that are prized for their fur are one of the few. The size of a schoolbus, they were traditionally hunted by Tajaran for their juicy meat as well as their thick fur, which is still used in the construction of homes on Adhomai today. These are akin to cows for the Tajaran species, and are professionally herded and domesticated to supply the population.
Some of Adhomai's thriving ecosystem is instead hidden beneath the surface of the planet in great, expansive caves thought to have been created long ago when Adhomai was a young planet. Shielded from the harsh winds of the outside world, many creatures make their homes in the cave systems close to or near by exits to the surface, daring only to leave so that they may scavenge for fruit or hunt for prey. It is thought that Tajaran at one point in their evolution resided in caves, and evidence of carvings on the rock walls of certain cave systems support this. Archaeological digs have discovered primitive furniture and lodgings that may have been left by Tajaran ancestors.
Value
Adhomai is prized highly for its rich mineral deposits and the abundance of heavy metal ores located in the planet's crust. Mining, as well as logging and hunting, have traditionally been the most important of Tajaran roles, given that nearly all pre-discovery buildings were constructed using wood and stone with animal fur as insulation. It was not until the involvement of humans, however, that the true potential for mining was discovered. With scanning equipment capable of penetrating down to the planet's core, vast quantities of valuable metals have been discovered and the majority of manual labor finds itself in the mining trade now.
Exports of animal fats and fur have also brought riches to the planet. Tajaran furs are prized for their insulating abilities and certain species of animal have been noted to have 'luxurious, velveteen fur coats' that make good luxury furniture, coats, clothing, and blankets. Because of the nature of their ecosystem, Adhomai also has a monopoly on the exportation of these materials; creatures exported from the planet, unless taken care of under specific and expensive conditions, quickly experience heat stroke and die. This makes the off-planet breeding and selling of these creatures of dubious monetary value.
What it lacks in manufacturing power, Adhomai makes up for in the presence and exporting of raw materials. Given that the Tajaran had only reached the height of their industrial revolution prior to stagnation, they were unable to achieve the level of technology that other species were capable of. While more factories are being upgraded and built to facilitate the cheap construction of important products by untrained workers, Adhomai is valued amongst supercorporations and other high profile individuals because of the abundance of raw resources, which has quickly led to a human-funded expansion of the resource gathering industry.