Project Iris

**Dissolved** | Dec 25, 2658

**Project Iris** was a group of scientists from the Outlands assembled to prevent an energy crisis. Its members are Pathfinder's creators.

## History

Lillian Peck, a billionaire industrialist, was warned by her scientists, led then by Aleki Gibraltar, of an impending energy crisis that would affect the Outlands within the next twenty years. In light of this, she created Project Iris in 2643, a scientific initiative tasked with finding an alternative energy source to prevent the energy crisis.

In 2645, Dr. Mary Somers discovered branthium, a synthetic element that she believed could provide limitless energy which could be found in the accretion disk of a black hole. She and her assistant, Dr. Ashleigh Reid, flew to nearby 2427-SR to recover a sample. The mission was successful, but Dr. Reid disconnected the tether on Dr. Somers' shuttle and left her to drift into the black hole.

With branthium's viability proven, a group of scientists was assembled to refine the crystals into a stable energy source. This was easier said than done, as the energy crisis had already started affecting the Outlands.

Three years into the crisis, they had a breakthrough in their research. Newton Somers, son of Mary Somers and an intern on Project Iris, pointed out that they'd need to do some adjustments on the refinery itself while it was on. Taking note that their human bodies were unable to withstand the conditions inside the reactor, Dr. Reid had the idea of modifying a MRVN unit to do the task for them. This would require significant modifications to be made to the unit to give it enough knowledge and autonomy to do the task on its own. This modified MRVN, dubbed Pathfinder, was eventually made on February 04, 2658.

On December 25, the team had successfully figured out how to refine branthium, but while they were celebrating, Dr. Reid arrived with several armed Apex Predators and seized control of the facility, intending to send the supply of branthium to Gridiron via the Phase Runner. Pathfinder managed to escape capture and take out several mercenaries; in the ensuing fight, Dr. Reid was stabbed by Dr. Paquette, but more mercenaries were approaching the building. The group opted to use the phase runner to distribute the branthium throughout the Outlands before activating the self-destruct sequence, destroying the facility.

The group was then dissolved, since the energy crisis was prevented and all members were dead or missing.

## Members

* **Dr. Mary Somers** - The astrophysicist who discovered branthium.
* **Dr. Ashleigh Reid** - Somers' assistant who was secretly working with the Apex Predators.
* **Dr. Amélie Paquette** - A geologist, and Wattson's grandmother. After Dr. Reid cut off her hand, she stabbed Reid and killed her.
* **Dr. Aleki Gibraltar** - The scientist who initially anticipated the energy crisis. He was Gibraltar's grandfather.
* **Dr. Anastasia "Stay" Oliveira** - A mechanical engineer and expert in robotics. She gave Pathfinder the ability to operate the facility's security measures.
* **Dr. Armen Fletcher** - A medical doctor with friends in the IMC.
* **Dr. Conan Shelley** - An engineer.
* **Prof. Milly Delgado** - A physicist.
* **Newton Somers** - The group's intern and son of Dr. Mary Somers.
* **Al Stern** - Commander of the IMC's Adonis Squad, a team hired to act as security for Project Iris.

## References

1. ↑ Transition -  Crisis To Avert
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pathfinder's Quest, chapter 11 - *The Truth*
3. ↑ Pathfinder's Quest, intermission A - *A Blast from the Past*
4. ↑ In the Transition  Arms Race, the crisis seemed to have started on 2655. The events surrounding Pathfinder's creation was on 2658.