Background: Nestled in the heart of an asteroid belt in the
remote Quence sector, Elshandruu Pica is one of the
flagship tourist destinations that supports the Five Veils
Tour Route and the nearby Leisure Corridor. As a
consequence, Elshandruu Pica is an unusually extravagant
and well developed world for an Outer Rim planet, which
is an image that features heavily in its marketing and
tourism campaigns.
Orbited by one large red moon and two smaller white
moons, and close enough to the Elshandruu Belt that the
larger asteroids can be seen from the planet's surface,
Elshandruu Pica is famous for its beautiful views of the
night sky. It remains a temperate climate year round
except for its seasonal ion storms. Caused by ionized
radiation from the asteroid belt, these dangerous
phenomena form in the upper atmosphere and can shut
down the electronics of any ship unfortunate enough to be
caught in them. Due to their unpredictable and rapid
formation, flight space over the hemisphere closest to the
belt is kept strictly closed, and the planet's major
spaceports are spread across its surface so that traffic may
come and go at any point in Elshandruu's rotation.
Although typically seen as a safe destination for
travellers, Elshandruu Pica has been home to several
pirate groups that operate out of the Elshandruu Belt,
preying on ships carrying valuable luxury goods and
occasionally kidnapping wealthy visitors. This is an issue
that the local government and the Imperial tourist board
both work hard to downplay, as the system is too remote
to be able to rely on regular Imperial patrols to deal with
pirates.