I apologise for the lengthy delay, my leave was much lengthier than originally anticipated, and the Board of Directors within Cryer decided that these talks cannot continue without my presence due to my close involvement on the project.
You have my thanks for your response and I understand the problems Lesbos brings with its naturally harsh and unstable environment. Despite the harsh conditions, which were originally outlined in our survey, we still believe that there is more long-term profit and gain to be had in a planetary outpost. We understand the extreme expense such a project will entail, and we've already reserved several billions of credits to fund this complex investment.
The main reasons we are willing to put so much into this project, despite the planetary conditions, is threefold:
Firstly, an isolated facility on this desert world will present a large number of research opportunities that would otherwise be impossible or impractical. One of the main negatives to this world, that you mentioned, was the lack of detectable Hydrogen, which indicates a complete lack of water. This, at least to us, represents more of an opportunity than a drawback. The lack of water will allow us to perform specialised research that would otherwise be dangerous due to potential contamination or outbreak. Research on Cardamine would be a good example of this.
Secondly, due to the location of Lesbos, and our outpost located within its orbit, we are in an extremely isolated spot. As our research station in Sigma-17 would suggest, we prefer the isolation so we can work undisturbed by the houses that often have large amounts of legislation that prevent us from doing the more profitable research. It was the work that occurred in such isolation that led Stabilne, the currently only known treatment for Cardamine addiction. The houses have so many laws that end up causing more issues than they solve.
Thirdly, Lesbos holds a large amount of historic and biological potential that we wish to tap into, with the aid of the Corsair Empire. As you've already pointed out, there are areas on Lesbos that are both highly dangerous and restricted. An outpost on the planet would offer a safe haven within the inhospitable landscape where Corsair and Cryer survey teams can base out of and return with any findings. These findings could then be researched by Cryer, under Corsair supervision.
During our survey, we managed to find an optimal location that would drastically reduce many environmental factors that would threaten the facilities construction and day to day existence. The location we found is known as the Xirolomni plateau. Our facility would be created extremely close to it, using it as a rudimentary shield to reduce the strong forces that would be enacted upon the main facility. The Xirolomni plateau is extremely elevated compared to the surrounding area and forms a large set of sand dunes. These dunes act as the edge of a bowl, if you will, slowing down all wings and sandstorms that would come into contact with it. To our knowledge, Xirolomni doesn't come into contact with any of the pre-defined restricted zones set by the Corsair Empire.
The facility would have a small surface presence, a large tower being the tallest structure. This tower would not exceed the height of the protective dunes and would serve little more than a central administration location. The majority of the facility will be placed underground and out of sight, with the only major indicator being the research domes of each major module. As a side note, one of our modules in planning is a bio-dome to produce food/water within the facility to drastically reduce the requirement for supply missions to be run down to the surface.
The plans have been run over time after time and they are possible to achieve, but it will be expensive, difficult, and time-consuming.
That all being said, these can only go forwards after our main survey is complete with the Corsair teams. Your kinetic drilling idea sounds quite effective given the landscape we would be working with and would help to set up the foundation for a construction project. While prefabs are not the way we intended to begin construction, they could prove useful in setting up the major foundation and groundwork. If we start building from underneath the surface, the terrain would be much less of an issue for when we begin to expand our facility beyond the barebones setup that we would be working with.
I understand that this is a lengthly request and discussion, but given the scope of this project, we want to achieve the most optimal resutls for this long term investment.
Sender: Luciano Vasquez, The Brotherhood Location: Barcelona Station, Omicron Omega Encryption: Mucho strong Recipient: Oscar Sanders Topic: Planet Lesbos Expedition
Saludos Senor Sanders,
My name is Luciano Vasquez- the current Consul of The Brotherhood and Elder to our people. Caelius and Kasandra are... busy, elsewhere, so I it has fallen to me to reply to your message. I must say- you've certainly put a lot of effort into planning this expedition, and the expenses you've set aside sound quite vast. One would almost say wastefully so, in fact. I'm glad to hear the you find certain... benefits shall we call them, in working within our Empire. The Maltese gringo's are our ancient enemies, and it is satisfying to see them stopped on any front, both in-space and spreading their dispicable influence throughout Sirius, Cardamine and slavery both. Yet I can see you and your researchers are keen as anything to get down on to the surface of Lesbos, so I will go over this plan of yours.
You say that the lack of water would infact be beneficial to your research- on cardamine. I'm no scientist but I would assume that this stops the.... "disease" from spreading? What exactly are you planning to do with it? What are you hoping to learn? And how can we use this new knowledge against the Outcasts?
We are aware that Lesbos could be a new source of Artifacts for the Imperium, which is why we are considering your proposal for landing on the planet. This is also why we have the strict condition that there must be a Corsair presence on the base, to sort through and judge any artifacts found on expeditions. The funds of the artifact trade are the lifeblood of Crete, and no threat to that will be tolerated. I do hope this is clear and understood.
I've run your base location and setup past our geologists and they have confirmed that the Xirolomni Plateau is indeed outside our restricted zones, and they say that your plan to use it as a wind-break for a primarily underground facility is ingenuous and ambitious. Whether the ground there will be suitable to hold up during the excavation of the base is yet to be seen, but we can arrange for some drill samples to be prepared. If all goes well, they will confirm that the earth will be sturdy enough to hold the base without collapsing down or anything. I'd suggest preparing a back-up location, just to be safe.
Additionally, I am curious as to how the biodome will cope to being underground, as even the usual space-borne domes may still rely on the local star for photosynthesis. As such, we would be keen to make use of any advances in hydroponics, fertilization, harvesting or post-processing methods for use in asteroid bases, such as those that make up a large portion of Corsair installations, as any chance to reduce their drain on Crete's limited produce is not to be treated lightly.
Actually - that's another thing how are you planning to power the base? The ever-present storms make solar-power ureliable at best, and in-operable at worst. Just another trial to keep in mind, senor.
Nevertheless, I do hope you have not been put off from this project,
Allow me to elaborate on my points for better understanding, the less confusion with this the better.
Firstly, to address the water query, the water, or there lack of, wouldn't be directly beneficial per se. A better way to see it would be that it makes for a very easy fallback strategy. Since we are going for a modular approach with this installation, having the water source/store external allows us to directly control where it goes. This means in the event of unforeseen contaminants or disasters within one of the main modules, we can remove their ability to leave and cut of the water supply. Lockdown and sever the cord as it were.
Secondly, our eyes are not that focused on the artefacts and assistance with that is more our offer in exchange for permission to go ahead with this plan. Out of our planned modules, there would be one module dedicated to the artefacts and findings of Lesbos, this is where the Corsairs would be based within our installation and where they would not be disturbed. This would give you the privacy you require as well as quick access to any professionals located within the rest of the facility.
Thirdly, concerning the biological production within the facility, it is possible to simply use specially designed lights to provide plants and vegetation with the required energy to grow. Contrary to popular belief, this is not that difficult and has been done for centuries. The reason that "Bio-domes" are greatly preferred is due to efficiency. Natural light is significantly more efficient and space allows for a lot more expansion due to the lack of any physical restrictions. This means you can have a much larger operation with vastly reduced costs and upkeep. Our method will still work, but it will increase the overall maintenance cost of the facility.
Finally, the power issue was something that was raised a number of times during discussions. Our initial idea was to have a micro-fusion reactor in each of the modules that powered it independently. This would have been ideal, but it removed one of the key elements of control we desire within this installation. The administration, or centre, module will be where the power plant for the entire facility will be located. While we can make do with a fusion reactor that can be jump-started with H-Fuel, that will become increasingly dangerous and expensive. We plan on reaching out to the IRG or Ageria to try and find an optimal power solution.
I hope these serve as satisfactory answers for your curiosity, and I hope to hear back from you soon.
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