Sorlei, once a desolate world, underwent a massive mining operation in the years following the declaration of the Expansion Initiative, aimed to further Imperial influence across galaxies and turbocharge Imperial industry. Sorlei is mostly flat and barren on its surface, and is hostile to life without any form of respirator. Splotched along its surface are large deposits of Duracite, a material highly sought after for sturdy, long-lasting, and large-scale construction projects.

After individuals or companies acquired Duracite, or mined it themselves, an army of huge factories, processing plants, and energy facilities rose to cover Sorlei’s surface. Today, competition for stable land has resulted in a maze of overlapping factory complexes forming dark, narrow tunnels serving as streets.

It can take years of living in a Sorlei city to become familiar enough with the tunnel network to navigate easily. Factories are often forced to liaise with those above, as moving materials from a tunnel into a warehouse twenty stories high proves to be a difficult logistical challenge.

Around each Duracite deposit, a city is thriving. Cities on Sorlei are typically split into compressed residential, manufacturing, mining, and docking station areas. Sorlei is far from an ideal vacation destination, so only factory workers or miners live there, though some temporary residences are reserved for intergalactic haulers once they arrive after their long journey.

Life on Sorlei is dull. The Governor-General often reports record-high crime rates and receives letters from the general public describing a common sense of “general unease.” This is attributed to the many Duracite quarries, which produce a chemical through the refinement process which stimulates a fear response in the brain.

Factory and plant workers often live inside their place of work, or in an attached antechamber. Living conditions are sometimes compared to that of a prison. Walls are sturdy and schedules are regular, but the planet is engulfed in a sense of monotony created by company-issued living quarters, furniture, and more. Additionally, every building except the first Duracite extraction plants and refineries are built with the same, dark grey material.

Additional workers who do not have a space at their building may live in the small residential area of their city, if there is one. Owners of factories or companies typically live on a Core World like Prallia or Tenebriter. Remarkably, Sorlei has no artificial satellites designed for long-term residence. Imperial Troopers live in a city’s residential area. If there is none or it is entirely occupied, a portable shelter may be used wherever there is space: in tunnels, on roofs, in quarries, or on the planetary surface.

Anyone on Sorlei is protected from Rebels and criminals by the Imperial Infantry Corps and Military Police. However, the Imperium can only protect against criminals and cannot afford the personnel to guard factories or proprietary secrets constantly. Thus, some manufacturing companies choose to employ mercenaries or bruisers from distant corners of the galaxy. Others create their own private security force from scratch.

Sorlei contributes in a multitude of ways to the overall Imperial economy. However, some industries dominate the world’s production lines. Most notably:

Household or daily-use goods and appliances;
Steel and strong metals;
Construction equipment and materials;
Medical equipment;
Prosthetic devices;
Commercial space vessels;
Artificial food;
Protective gear;
Rudimentary cloning equipment;
Maps, posters, and Imperial promotional material;
Special projects as ordered by the Imperium.

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