1) ASSIGNMENT INFORMATION
On 24. of February 819 A.S. around 11:30 Sol hours Guild Master Johnathan Sanders of the Independent Miners Guild sent a GuildComm wide message stating that a private investor requested Independent Miners Guild's help to look into building an outpost. Upon receiving this message I, Mara Arin, responded directly to the aforementioned Guild Master in private about taking the assignment.
On 25. of February 819 A.S. around 2:00 was completed and on 27. of February 819. A.S. this report was compiled.
The assignment was to survey the following two areas: S1) Kepler system, Kuryo Cloud an outcropping of a larger "Kuyro anomaly" S2) Sigma 19, Donryu Cloud a medium-sized offshoot of the Edge Nebula
2) [color=#CC6600]ABSTRACT (S2)
This survey was conducted using the "Uruz" battle transporter modified to withstand gas explosions. Thanks to the effect of "Faraday shield" we were safe from the cloud's electrical storms, but not from the hostile vessels which pass through the cloud to reach a jump hole. For that reason I asked a pilot named Jacob Walker to accompany my crew and me to the cloud which he did without asking why was I going there. With his help, we were able to observe the cloud, it's storms and twin planets named Hades and Cerebus without interruptions. We found that this rather small cloud is composed of large quantities of gases, mostly methane, and that it is composed of two zones, both of them being very unsafe due to Corsair and Outcast marked ships passing through the cloud frequently.
3) [color=#CC6600]PREPARATION (S2)
After we finished loading the equipment from Java, we undocked and made our way towards the Sigmas. Knowing that such expedition would be dangerous, as the cloud is very close to unlawful space, I invited a recruit named Jacob Walker to escort me to our destination. He didn't ask anything in return, but I thought that I should at least share some of my knowledge of space which, it seems, he enjoyed very much. We traveled through Kusari space until we reached Aomori station on which we landed. Once we were docked I told the quartermaster to find and buy the same expedition cargo we used in our last survey with the exception of oxygen. While he was preparing the supplies I decided to hit the bar and eavesdrop on the conversations people were having. After several minutes the quartermaster called me and told me everything is ready for take off, so I paid my expensive cocktail which was cheap compared to the priceless information I heard. It seems, the cloud is hiding two jump holes and that the third is very close, each leading to pirate controlled systems, so I told the crew to be prepared for anything. After taking off, we met up with Mr Walker who waited for us at Gas miner Ogashawa in the Sigma 19 from where we continued to Donryu cloud with only the minimum
4) [color=#CC6600]PROCESS (S2)
Once we arrived on the perimeter of the cloud we put a probe out to determine the type of gas and the cloud's density. We continued to take readings across the whole cloud which we passed several times. After surveying the whole cloud we went to take camera shots of jump holes and their relative position to planet Cerebus. We found that Omicron Beta jump hole in in the outer part of the cloud while Okinawa jump hole is on the perimeter of it, but still in the inner part. We had a few encounters with hostile vessels, but in order to honor they wish and my word, I've decided not to take camera shots of their ships' nor disclose their names and they in return didn't bother us when we surveyed the cloud. I think it was a fair deal considering the situation despite the fact that they might have committed unlawful acts in the past. I have full confidence that Mr Walker would have been able to defend our ship, but it isn't my job to enforce the law.
5) [color=#CC6600]RESULTS (S2)
A) [color=#CC6600]Cloud constitution
The Donryu cloud itself is not homogeneous, but consists of two distinguishable parts. The outer part is shaped like a ring made of gases, mostly methane, and has a number of small solid asteroids which are themselves mostly made of condensed and solidified methane gas while the inner part has no such obstructions. The gas is very dense in the outer ring making it hard for scanners to penetrate more then a few kilometers and solid gas asteroids don't help in any way as they make passing through the cloud rough and uncomfortable. The inner part of the cloud, however, is more hospitable as there are no solid objects there except for twin planets.
B) Planets
The planets within the cloud are in the inner part of it, named Hades and Cerebus, which may explain why it is less dense then the outer ring. Sending a probe reveled that their atmosphere is composed of methane, while we have little information from what their core is made of because our probe was crushed by the extreme pressure within the planet itself. We think the core consists of larger, heavier molecules which aren't light enough to resist the gravitational pull, such as metals, but we cannot be sure until we find better plated probes.
Hades and Cerebus are planets that sucked all the gas in the innermost part of the cloud creating a disproportion in density. This is both beneficial and harmful at the same time. Low density allows scanners to penetrate further into the cloud and increase visibility, but at the same time it hinders base's ability to stay naturally hidden.
C) Anomalies and hazards
A single anomaly was found in the outer dense ring, south of the Omicron Beta jump hole. It appears to be a part of a destroyed ship, mostly likely a lightly armored vessel similar to the Starflier. Close inspection determined that the ship is empty and doesn't pose an obstacle in base construction.
There are two main hazards that will be a problem if we were to construct a base in Donryu cloud first being the electrical storm. The storm is present in the outer ring as gas molecules are rubbing each other causing electrical discharges that may hit a ship or a base. The problem does not present itself if the storm discharges on a ship or a constructed base as they are protected thanks to the effect of "Faraday shield", but if it hits a base while being constructed. If the latter happens, whoever is not protected by the aforementioned effect would be dead in seconds.
The second problem is a high amount of traffic composed of Corsair and Outcast vessels, which could decide to attack the base if the investor is not in a good standing with the unlawful groups.
6) [color=#CC6600]CONCLUSION (S1)
The Donryu cloud has only two places upon which a base could be built and those are the inner and the outer part. They each have their upsides and downside which I will outline.
Base construction in the clear inner part of the cloud would make the construction easier, cheaper and less dangerous, however there is a risk the base might be destroyed. Because it would be close to both planet Hades and Cerebus there is a possibility that they might pull the base towards themselves making it crash into their atmosphere. If on the other hand, we were to construct the base in orbit of one planet there is a possibility the other planet might pull it out of the orbit and make it fly away from the cloud. The only place for a base to be constructed, in my professional opinion, is between the two planets as their gravitational forces would negate each other making the base stay in place or equip the base with auto balancing propulsion system that would force the base to stay in orbit around one planet.
However, if we were to construct the base in the dense outer part of the cloud, the construction would be unsafe due to electric discharges. That would force us to build the base in pieces and ship the parts to the cloud for them to be merged together. Despite the dangers and initial cost, a base built here would be naturally hidden from scanners and safe from the gravitational pull of nearby planets. Once constructed, the base would thanks to "Faraday shield" effect be safe from the electrical discharges. Unfortunately, the base would also have to be built away from the jump holes as they do themselves have a gravitational pull which might destroy the base if it were to approach it.
At the end, I'd also like to add that transporting oxygen to the base should be done with outmost caution as if the oxygen leeks into the methane rich cloud it could cause an explosion if the right mixture of oxygen and methane was to lit up.
Attention! This report is the property of Mara Arin and cannot be copied, edited or used in any other way unless given a written permission.
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