The situation is much the same on our end, crossing Zeta now requires reinforced escort as a matter of course. At least the VEGA Project is complete, and we now have a sturdy Bismarck to help defend our installations.
By the time you receive this message, our liaison should already be en route to Damascus.
As for the research effort, it will remain separate from the parallel initiative we are conducting with the broader Zoner scientific community. Should the venture at Corinth produce results, we will forward them to our joint project. Likewise, if our shared investigation at Kadesh or Damascus bears fruit, then —with the consent of both High Commands— we will pass the relevant findings on to the wider community effort. We will have some of the brightest minds in the Zoner world working on this; it would be a waste not to make full use of them.
Once the theoretical groundwork is in place, the best course may be to merge both teams. It should be simple enough to pass your scientists off as Zoners by integrating them into the Kadesh group.
As for a remote testing site… that is proving more complicated. Nearly every system where Phoenix maintains installations is now plagued by infected forces. So far, our exploration department has proposed several options.
Omega-49, within the Blackdown Cloud, is one possibility. Since Poole collapsed, traffic there has dwindled to almost nothing. The drawback, of course, is the lingering Corsair presence.
Tau-37 was suggested as well, but I ruled it out. The system is too busy, too unstable, and too full of skirmishes. The Outcasts alone would make it far too noisy for discreet work.
At present, the most promising candidate appears to be Baffin. Now effectively a dead end, most of the traffic there is Zoner in nature. Chao Field in particular could serve well, far enough from what remains of the TAZ sect to avoid unwanted interference.
The final two possibilities are Kansas and Vespucci, but we still lack the intelligence required to make a proper assessment.
If you have suggestions of your own, we are listening. We still have time; I do not expect immediate results.
One last thing: our liaison will be bringing several interesting samples from the deep Omegas — pure osmium, several manufactured products derived from it, and enough Rydberg matter to sustain research for a few months. We are still trying to find a more practical way to stabilize it using systems that require less than a station-grade power core, but that is another matter entirely. These deep-Omega materials, along with the data we have gathered, may prove to be our edge in mastering this technology. Kishiro never had access to them, and therefore could never integrate them into their research.
Perhaps, with them, we may discover a new and safer way to open a rift.
