New Austin

New Austin

Planet Data

Stellar Radius 1.01 AUs Surface Gravity 1.3 G Length of Day 25.4 hours Length of Year 357 days Population 318 million Satellites Navarro Orbital Stations Several Political Affiliation American Union

New Austin was the first colony outside of the Sol system, settled in 2116. Initial scans revealed a verdant planet teeming with life, though with slightly higher gravity, and much higher oxygen and carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere. The most promising discovery in the system was a wealth of the materials responsible for FTL travel, making it an ideal candidate for colonization. Early in the colonization process, problems arose when humans interacted with the local wildlife. The plants and animals were not just larger than on Earth, they were much more hostile. Nearly every living thing on the planet was carnivorous. Through American ingenuity, sheer willpower, and a massive amount of explosions, the AU managed to carve out a niche for humanity.

The AU military publicly downplayed the dangers of the planet, assuring the people that it was perfectly safe inside the perimeter of Houston. There was no shortage of applicants to be part of the colonization effort, even with the strict criteria for physical fitness. 200,000 scientists, military personnel, engineers, mechanics, and miners took part in the initial colonization. Shortly after that the AU established a joint Naval and Marine base inside the city limits to train new soldiers and defend the government’s investment from foreign aggression. That number increased steadily through immigration and heavily encouraged childbirth to 264 million over the next 204 years.

New Austin has a single continent spanning the entire planet with a large inner sea in the middle and a Great Lake to the east. Only about 53% of the surface of New Austin is covered in water. There is more land than on the whole Earth, leaving plenty of room for expansion in the future. While it might look like a single biome world at first glance, there are three major biomes - jungle, rainforest, and alpine tundra. Outside of the major human cities very little of the planet has been touched by civilization. The massive city walls provide safety from extremely dangerous and unusually large wildlife. Within the perimeter of the walls, much of the native flora has been replaced by Earth life engineered to survive on New Austin, though some of the native plants have been domesticated as well.

Houston is the first major city on New Austin and the capitol of New Texas. Originally a small settlement built around a mine for FTL material, additional settlements popped up around it and eventually they merged into a single metropolis. The city is protected from the devastating storms coming in from the Hyperborean Ocean by the mountains to the north. 12 meter tall walls protect the citizens from the oversized wildlife, such as the numerous Super Wolves and the highly aggressive Texasaurus Rexes. The original walls are still standing, though they no longer mark the edges of the city, long since being expanded to allow growth.

Fort Alamo started out mostly as a training ground for AU marines, Epsilons, and New Austin Rangers. The Fort housed families of military personnel at first and over time it evolved into a city in its own right. Like the other cities of New Texas, it’s surrounded by circular walls, though it tends to be more heavily manned than most city defenses. The high concentration of the Texasaurus population in the area meant the Fort was often attacked early on. Over the years Texasaurs have learned not to directly attack the walls. They have been growing more crafty, waiting for the cover of storms and fog or herding stampeding Hell Boars towards the walls instead. This combined with the important military assets necessitated a larger defense force.

The city is divided into several zones - military, industrial, residential, government, and commercial - that are connected by high-speed underground transit pods. Most of the city’s vehicles are automated, running on a wireless electrical grid built into the roads. Transportation between Fort Alamo and other cities is mostly via airplane, as travel by car is highly dangerous.

The Lacandan Jungle covers around half of the land on New Austin. Much of it remains largely unexplored by humans due to the density of foliage and dangerous wildlife. Only the area surrounding the three major cities has been surveyed in detail. The amount of biodiversity present makes it impossible to describe the whole of the jungle. Massive trees connected at the root by multi-colored fungi make up much of the plant life one could expect in the jungle. Swarms of insects larger than big dogs roam the jungle, on the ground, in the water, and in the sky. They in turn provide food for even bigger lifeforms, such as Hell Boars, Giant Otters, and Super Wolves, which end up as food for New Austin’s apex predator - the Texasaurus Rex. The undisputed ruler of the jungle, all creatures live in fear of it. Only healthy Hell Boars are relatively safe from predation by Texasaurs.
Traveling in the jungle without sufficient protection is a death sentence to the majority of the human population. If not killed by toxic fungal spores or giant predators, one can expect to be the victim of a Hell Boar stampede or stumble into an ant hill full of dog-sized ants. The rivers are just as dangerous as the land, filled with tentacled monstrosities, shark-like monsters, and giant reptiles.

The San Jacinto Rainforest occupies the Eastern half of the single continent on New Austin that isn’t Jungle. Its biodiversity is no less impressive to behold, consisting of what’s estimated to be millions of species. Texasaurs also dominate much of the Rainforest, with herds of Hell Boars and packs of Super Wolves. After those species, the Great Monkeybat is the most numerous and perhaps most dangerous species.

The Pecos

The only sea on the planet is called the Cerulean Sea due to the brilliant blue glow of the water at night, which is caused by a species of algae in the water. During the day the algae has a reddish color, which often confuses travelers.

New Austin has a number of notable creatures that bear a close resemblance to Earth animals, with the addition of unique adaptations.

The largest and most dangerous carnivore ever to walk the surface of New Austin. Texasauri have a resemblance to the ancient Tyrannosaurus Rex, but they are by no means just an extraterrestrial cousin of the Earth carnivore. Not only are they over twice the size of the T-Rex, but their arms are much longer, and each arm ends in a four clawed digit with an opposable thumb. They have long, powerful legs perfect for chasing down prey in short bursts of speed. Their legs end in three-clawed feet with a smaller hind claw for balance. In addition, they have a long, powerful tail that starts out thick and ends in a narrow tip.

Their skulls are elongated, ending in a snout with large nostrils. Their eyes are large and round with vertical slits and they face forward, enabling them to see well in darkness and track their prey. On top of the skull, they have small horns above their eyes, and on their neck they have frills made of skin supported by cartaliginous spines. The frills puff out when they are threatened, and frequently when battling for territory or being challenged by competitors. They are covered in thick scales and their backs are protected by bony spines.

If that wasn’t frightening enough, Texasauri have venom glands in their throat that secrete a thick, tarry substance that contains a powerful paralytic to immobilize prey. They are highly intelligent pack hunters that are capable of using strategic and tactical planning, and they are quick learners. Their hierarchy is similar to a pack of lions where there are usually few males in a pack and many females. The older males kick out their young when they come of age and the males will form groups with each other to take down older males and the strongest will become the leader of the pack. When they do this they kill the young of the previous leader so that the females will be receptive again.