This is an inhospitable planet suffering the extremes of arctic winter conditions for most of the year. Over 60% of the planet’s surface is covered by permafrost, snow and ice. There is no free standing water on the planet and most of the cities use large extractors that melt down huge quantities of ice and snow, while others have deep wells that stretch down into the bowels of the planet to tap the natural underground lakes and springs that lie there, nearer to the warmer core of the planet. Added to the harsh climate, the inhabitants must also contend with a 63 hour day making the increased cold of night fall even harder to bear. Its year is even longer, being roughly thirty nine standard years long, which makes the seasons very difficult to tolerate for anyone not born to the world. As a result, there are very distinctive personalities in those native to this world, depending on the season in which they were born.

There are a number of native creatures, such as the howlrat and the vorpa, though none of them pose any danger to the offworld interlopers, as they are largely herbivorous and extremely timid. However, there are a number of native, highly virulent diseases that killed many of the early colonists, though cures have since been found for them all. As a result, there are a number of state of the art Federation funded hospitals and research laboratories on the planet, as well as a branch of the Biotech Solutions Inc. medical company. The Federal Health Authorities insist that any visitors to the planet are up to date with the latest inoculations before they arrive, as there are several virulent diseases that are indigenous to the planet, and quarantine laws are strictly enforced, as are the punishments for anyone caught breaking them.

The northern hemisphere of this planet is dotted with active volcanoes, further detracting from the hospitability of this region, due to the sulphurous fumes and other noxious gases, though it does at least raise the average temperate to quite comfortable levels. There are one or two enclosed settlements in this area, using the volcanoes’ geothermic energy to provide heat and power. These towns and cities are mostly mining encampments, digging out the rich veins of heavy metals and precious gemstones from around the volcanoes. The small equatorial zone of this world does sport some arid tundra land upon which the majority of the cities are to be found. The Falleen Federation armed forces have training bases on the planet, due to the variable landscape. There are training obstacle courses covering most of the different terrain types, including volcanic, underground caves and tunnels, swamp, forest and tundra.

Ulrike was colonized about fifty years after Loronar, though for completely different reasons. The first colonists were miners, looking for the many precious metals and minerals that orbiting spacecraft reported to exist from their deep core scans. Soon after landing, many of then started falling seriously ill, with doctors unable to find anything wrong and Bacta also seemed to be strangely ineffective. Upon learning of this, Loronar Security set up a quarantine blockade around the planet and prevented any ships from leaving. Many of the colonists died before state of the art medical equipment could be brought in for the diseases to be analyzed and cured. Nowadays, inoculation is a matter of course and strict quarantine procedures are rigorously followed on all those who visit the world. The military training academies and civilian workers are all extensively screened and checked before being allowed to leave the planet and despite the inherent natural dangers, Ulrike still attracts many tourists, for in its own unique way it is a beautiful world.