Planet Pygar

DIAMETER: 4,821 km

MASS: 3.17 x 10e24 kg

TERRAIN: Desert

TEMPERATURE: -46°C to 34°C

ESCAPE VELOCITY: 5.56 km/sec

An arid world scoured clean by ceaseless sandstorms that wash across its surface, Pygar was discovered in 550 AS by the Bretonian exploratory vessel Fearless. During initial surveys, individual sandstorms that lasted for several years and reached top speeds of 805 km/h were observed. These hostile conditions would destroy probes within hours, dissuading further exploratory work until a Rheinland expedition arrived in 795 AS to investigate the caverns described in Cambridge's Fearless Archives. The Rheinlanders would discover a cache of live stasis Artifacts, carelessly awakening the aliens known as the Nomads and unleashing them on Sirius.

In the aftermath of the Nomad War, The Order would thoroughly explore Pygar, charting extensive cave systems but finding little more than long dead Dom'Kavash ruins and dust. The planet was of little further interest until 826 AS when Bretonia annexed the Zoner planet of Gran Canaria. Many were unwilling to accept living under House rule, and were happy to tolerate incredible hardships to secure their independence. One such group used The Order's survey data to found a small underground colony on Pygar. The raging storms overhead made it incredibly dangerous and expensive to import basic necessities, but the settlers persevered until a docking ring could be constructed. Even now, protecting the docking ring's tethers from the cutting storm winds is an enormous and costly task.

As the colony slowly grew, tensions would emerge with the Corsairs who felt the settlers were competing with their own home world for scarce local resources. Friction between the Corsairs and Theta's Zoners would continue to mount, culminating in the Corsair seizure of Freeport 9 in 831 AS. The Zoners of Pygar were quick to form armed militias in case the Corsairs turned their attention towards them, while Corfu became a rallying point for Zoner pilots enraged by this naked aggression. A core of Pygar's colonists insist they'll die before they leave, but many have already begun to emigrate back to a now free Gran Canaria to avoid entanglement in a war over Omicron Theta.

## Bribes & Missions Offered

* Cryer Pharmaceuticals
* Zoners

* Corsairs

## News

As Crete demanded the Zoners of Theta turn over any Hunters aboard their stations and surrender docking control, the Freeport 9 administrators were confident that some kind of compromise could be found. A delegation from Gran Canaria was requested to assist with negotiations, due to the close ties between Zoner and Corsair communities on the planet.
Tragically, the Corsairs interpreted this delay as refusal, and launched a surprise attack while the delegation was en-route. Many of Freeport 9's crew are now being held as hostages while the Corsairs pillage the station. An urgent conclave has been called on Gran Canaria to discuss the Zoner response, while militias on Pygar have taken up arms in case the violence spreads.

Ageira disputed this finding in their own press release, calling EFL 'fantasists' and countering that their own scientists had narrowed the cause to a rare 'hypernova' stellar event that originated outside the Sirius sector. Both corporations claim that network-wide hardware safeguards have been implemented that would prevent a similar occurrence in the future. Independent researchers have sharply criticized the corporate announcements, accusing both of self-interested misdirection.
Professor Sophia Nagel from Heisenberg Research Station called EFL's accusation 'incoherent' and the hypernova explanation 'nonsense' that did not explain the characteristics of the 'Blackout Pulse'. Despite multiple different Pulse recordings being widely disseminated across the neural net, public efforts have so far failed to triangulate its source.

Professor Nagel and her team are certain the Pulse originated from outside Sirius, but are otherwise no closer to identifying its source or mitigating a future Blackout event. "Following the Blackout, we began to see immediate signs of jump hole destabilization in multiple different regions, with many ultimately falling out of phase alignment altogether", she commented. The dramatic upending of Sirius' jump hole network has already prompted many groups to abandon stations and withdraw from systems that appear to risk being cut off.
While months-long trips between the stars are possible thanks to the Liberty Engine and many centuries of innovation, few ships are designed or provisioned to make such arduous journeys. Those who were displaced by Sirius' redrawn map hope that system connections will return, while adventurers and explorers rush to discover new routes.

The Militants believe the Corsairs prey on weakness, and will be more willing to negotiate if armed Zoners prove they cannot be easily or costlessly bullied.
The Reconcilers believe the situation can only be resolved by deescalating the immediate tensions, and then diplomatically securing the release of hostages and the return of the occupied Freeport.
Both sides are adamant that the other's approach will lead to the Zoners' subjugation or expulsion from the region.
Despite this, some common ground has been found, with the collective tasking a number of Fearless Q-Ship captains with deploying to Theta and protecting the Gran Canarian convoys that will be needed to resupply Freeport 5, Corfu and Pygar.

For decades the Zoners of Freeport 9 have kept themselves safe from Corsair reprisals by offering useful services, with their biodomes providing Crete with respite from the famines that once ravished it. Despite this, outrage has swept Omicron Gamma after a flight of Hunters killed Commander Juan Garcia, before retreating back to the No Fire Zones of Omicron Theta.
The Council of Elders have ordered the administrator of Freeport 9 to attend Planet Crete to hear their demands. Elder Garcia has vowed that the station's halls would "run red with blood" unless the Zoners turned over all BHG aboard the Freeport. The Zoners are yet to respond, likely trying to anticipate how the Corsairs will react.

The Corsairs see the Pygar colony as a direct competitor for the region's scarce resources, with Elder Garcia warning that there would be "dire consequences" should Freeport 9's biodomes reduce or divert their exports to Planet Crete. Whispers of alien ruins and Artifacts discovered below Pygar's surface may also antagonize the Corsairs, who rely on the Artifact trade as a source of wealth. The hardship of Pygar's extreme conditions and the uneasy relationship with the Corsairs has already led many colonists to consider a return to the now liberated Gran Canaria.

"The standing Navy of the Corsair Empire as well as its irregular raiders must do everything within their means to break existing stalemates or make progress. The enemies of Crete have grown arrogant and take for granted that Corsair offensives have lost their steam, this is an assessment which must be proved woefully wrong."
In response to these express instructions, activity across every Corsair installation has intensified to levels that suggest substantial mobilization.

## Rumors

* Out in the caves, the most creepy thing is that the slightest sounds can sometimes travel through quite a distance in these tunnels. Scared me to death when another search party was just talking and the walls warped the sounds. So far, most of what we've found is just caves, or overgrown with geology. And here I'd thought we could get rich quick with some artifacts.

* Honestly, I didn't want to come here. My wife, though. She's been absolutely incensed about what Bretonia did to our home on Gran Canaria. Can't really blame her. Tensions are pretty high. We never had that many strangers come to us and I fear that some of us Zoners aren't as open-minded when it comes to outsiders as we'd like to portray ourselves. Oh well, want a drink? Sorry if some of the others you've met have been a little terse.

* This place is enormous. We're sending out scouting parties into the tunnels daily and we still haven't found where they end. Been with them a couple times. Gotta tell you, when you're used to living, you know, not underground, you tend to get a little claustrophobic, even if the ceiling is often a hundred meters above you at least.

* What is a Zoner? Everyone will give you a different answer, it seems, but I think the core of what we are is summed up best by one word: Independent. We don't need corporate overlords or parliaments to dictate how we are to enjoy our lives. When I first set foot on Gran Canaria, I couldn't believe how beautiful, how untouched it was. Now it's full of these tin soldiers and their Armed Forces banner. It made me so angry seeing them defile our home like that, but they are stronger. I think many of those who came here felt the same. This might not be as open and we might never see sunlight down here, but it is ours. See that Corsair over there? I hope he knows that he and his ilk better not provoke us.

* Yes? Oh, hello, I mistook you for one of my assistants. We have been looking all over the place for traces of alien bio matter. If you've talked to that 'independent researcher', you're probably really amazed at this place, but for all we know, it could be a death trap. There could be microbes here that we are simply not evolutionarily selected to resist and could kill us. My job and those of a couple colleagues is to make sure people don't die, simple as that.

*NOTE: Page generated on the 28/10/2023 at 17:59:45 UTC*