Squama

Summary
Squama is a mineral-rich desert planet and the home planet of the Squams.

Joining the Federation
Squama joined the federation in 3010 after negotiations with their executive, it really only took a couple of weeks. Squams always knew someone else was out there, so preparations only took a small amount of time due to the generally laid back nature of Squam culture.

The real reason it didn’t take long for the diplomacy to go through was the vast amount of natural resources in the deserts of Squama. Mostly natural metals like Iron and Copper. It had a fair amount of radioactive resources as well, but no more than the average rocky planet. The big part of the deal for Squama was access to Asteroid mining technology. They always had an abundance of metals on their planet, but had grander plans.

After becoming part of the Federation, they got clearance to create their space station. At the time, Squama was incredibly interested in interstellar trade, as their own planet was rife with railroads systems due to their lack of large oceans, and heavy rail caused a boom in their economy that never truly ended. They wished to replicate their boom in space with a space station to call their own, to attract travel and trade, and support work on their own types of interstellar spaceships.

Climate
Squama is what most species would consider a desert planet, but its denizens don’t mind it, in fact they perfer it. Sources of water on the planet are closer to the poles than their equator. Despite this, Squams seem to populate all but the coldest regions of their humble planet. Major metropolitan areas still appear around sources of water, but extend much further from those sources than races with higher water needs.

Northern and Southern regions of tend to be tropical, and are the primary sources of tourism for most races. Temperatures tend to stay very consistent, with equatorial temperatures ranging from 70-140˚F. Tropical regions tend to stay around 55-100˚F. The poles see a sudden drop in temperature to 40˚F to 0˚F.

Politics
Politics on Squama changed dramatically when Chrome Ale became readily available. Television came before Chrome ale, and for a while after Chrome Ale was discovered, politicians were barred from taking it, but after a generation that regulation was removed, since it was significantly more interesting for candidates to be able to lie bold faced. The most interesting part of Squam politics is that since they made contact with the Federation, their satirical party, The Gargeloid Masterminds, has gained unexpected traction. The most recent Executive election actually elected a member of the Gargs, and he has made a surprising amount of social progress. As a result, Squams mostly see politics as a joke, at least on a national scale.

Technology
Technologically, Squams are unremarkable, except for their unparalleled research of the light spectrum and railway systems. Almost all advanced Heads Up Displays and sensor technology is of Squam origin, and Squam ships are the most accessible of all interstellar vehicles to other races. Similarly, any advanced Railway systems are likely to be Squam technology as well, with system models and cost reductions being the biggest influences. For a long time, it was a joke that Squam train times were the word of God, and the Gargs actually took this to heart, because in their official Holy Manuscript “The Good Word”, the train schedules of every station for the next 10 Federation years is printed inside. Since its first printing 25 Federation years ago it has yet to be incorrect, save for the typo when the Wolom train was to arrive at the 5th station at “PLACEHOLDER O’CLOCK”. They have since fired all interns at the printing company, and annually fire 1 person at random in remembrance.

Travel Tendencies
Squams themselves go off-planet more often than not. Many saw it as a second chance, a new adventure, or new opportunity. More recently, the Gargs enacted an international policy called “Get the hell off our planet, yes we mean the Squams too”, encouraging that fewer people claim permanent residence on the planet, and more travel the new galaxy in search of “Someplace that isn’t covered in sand”.