ITS Pathfinder, Antaria system, Researcher Sarah Wong commanding

Ship voice logs:

11/12/2433

Beginning new report, commanding researcher Sarah Wong documenting the first survey of the Antaria system located roughly three jumps away from known Technocracy space and five from the nearest colony. The Pathfinder is currently resting near the system edge awaiting full shield recharge after my last survey involved a close encounter with a pulsar. sigh Y'know, would it kill the Imperial Science Department to at least warn me before letting me jump in headfirst into an uncharted system? Anyways, the technician informs me that shield strength will be fully restored in one Earth day, we will be remaining here until then since I am not taking any risks involving my crew and my ship.

11/13/2433

Forgot to mention this in my previous entry, but the Antaria system composes of a main sequence G-class star that's roughly the same size and age as Earth's sun. Antaria is orbited by ten planets, seven of them being terrestrial and the remaining three being gas giants and most of them are orbited by countless moons. So far this system has been average in terms of resources with Antaria I having mineral deposits, Antaria III being a good spot for solar collectors for producing energy credits and Antaria V having rich alloy deposits. Overall, unless this system has some other extraordinary quality, I'll mark this off as a mining system. Note to self: request more variation in provided entertainment options when we get back to Technocracy space. I swear if analyst Charles complains about watching "The Galactic Flesh" one more time I will throw him out of the airlock.

11/15/2433

Well, I may have just found an extraordinary quality to Antaria. After surveying Antaria IV, I discovered two things; one, Antaria IV's moon is shattered like an object that was moving at an immense speed struck it and two, Antaria IV is inhabited. Not only is it inhabited, there exist multiple technologically advanced groups on the planet, each with its own different levels of technology. As I am speaking, my scans of Antaria IV are 75% complete so I am basing my predictions on educated guesses from half-finished results. I am definitely reporting to the Science Division once I finish surveying the rest of the survey.

11/18/2433

Now that Antaria IV and the rest of the system have been fully surveyed, I can focus my attention on Antaria's moon. To tell the truth, I am absolutely stumped. First off, the fact that no meteorites have impacted Antaria IV at all is a miracle. The number of loose rocks in orbit of Antaria IV is staggering, and that's before counting the massive chunks of the moon that are somehow still in orbit. Second of all, the partial destruction of the moon would've wreaked havoc on Antaria IV's tidal behaviour. On the bright side, all of that debris and loose rocks can provide the perfect cover for future observation missions, should the Technocracy take an interest. I would like to investigate further, but command has requested me to research an anomaly in the Illiad system. Something about precursor ruins in orbit around a gas giant. I'll transmit all survey data to command at once.

中海城 (Zhonghai City), Tech-World 新武汉 (New Wuhan), Xi Cygnas System

Junior Director Steven Zhou was having a horrible week. He paces around his office on the 45th floor of the main capital complex, switching from staring out of the window that doubles as the back wall of his office at the bustling city below to sitting at his desk and rubbing his temples in stress. The latest prototype of the Technocracy's zero-point energy ship reactor almost ended in catastrophe when only fifteen minutes into activation, the prototype almost went super-critical and nearly destroyed the entire complex it was being tested in, the marauder missile prototype he'd been assigned to oversee the transport of hasn't arrived yet and his samples of a rare plant from Eta Cassiopae IVb wilted and died due to an incompetent junior researcher. On top of that, the Imperial Science Department has deemed it necessary to re-delegate some of his departmental staff to other projects.

Sighing, he gets a coffee from his office's dispenser and reads over today's report. It's rather mundane, mostly about material tests, genetic data and daily resource usage. Life on this tidally-locked world is surprisingly good if you live on the twilight band or on the day side. The night side however is completely covered in glaciers that nothing can survive, although the cold provides the optimal conditions for the massive supercomputers that are vital for daily operations on the tech world. Zhou then set the report down on his desk and took a sip of his coffee. Maybe things will get better soon he thought as he leaned back into his chair.

"Director Zhou, sir!" A voice came through his desk intercom, causing him to fall from his chair. "We have received survey data from the Pathfinder. It includes twelve different systems, but Researcher Wong emphasized the importance of the Antaria system."

"Antaria?" Zhou said, confused as to why one of the Science Department's best researchers would focus her attention on this particular system. "Did Researcher Wong state why she took a special interest in this system?"

"She did sir, but she put her reason in the report and as you know sir, I do not have enough clearance to view any survey reports."

"That I do. Okay then, send every report to my office quickly and do not let anyone disturb me until I say otherwise, understand?"

"Yes sir!"

Zhou then heard the notifications appear as the reports came in on his holographic computer. He then spent the next six hours processing all twelve reports with six being ideal mining systems, two being viable colonization targets, two being good scientific study systems and one being completely worthless. With that out of the way, he could focus on the report about the Antaria system. At first he could see nothing out of the ordinary about Antaria, except for some rich mineral and alloy deposits, that was until he reached the entry about Antaria IV. Zhou's eyes started to widen as he read the entry written by Researcher Wong; "Antaria IV is home to a technologically advanced, but fractured civilization although they do not appear to harness atomic power. Antaria IV's moon is partially shattered and does not appear to pose a meteor threat to Antaria IV nor negatively impact the planet in any way. What caused this is unknown but an object of immense speed, mass and/or energy is suspected. Proposed next steps: construct an observation post in the debris field of Antaria IVa as the debris can block any sensors present on the surface and can reduce the minerals needed for the construction of the post. Any activities in the system of course would need to be discreet as the sensor capabilities of the Antaria IV civilization is unknown if it exists at all."

Zhou then stood up and walked to his office window and stared outside, lost in thought. He pondered the costs of such an endeavour and the risks of societal contamination if they were discovered. It took him a mere thirty minutes before his mind was made.

"Assemble an observation team and have them report to my office," Zhou said into his intercom. "And send a construction ship to Antaria IV to build an observation post."

"Yes sir, do you have a certain location for the post?"

"The debris field of Antaria IVa will do nicely."

"Roger that sir, construction ship is en route as we speak."

Information Data Logs:

ITS (Imperial Technocracy Ship) Pathfinder: A Columbus-class exploration ship operated by Sarah Wong. It holds six crew members, enhanced sensor suites and scanning equipment and six ten zettabyte data banks. It has successfully scanned and surveyed multiple star systems and researched several anomalies.

Sarah Wong: 36 years of age, Sarah Wong is one of the most talented and resourceful members of the Imperial Science Division, earning multiple awards in biology, astronomy and geography, with her overseeing the surveying of numerous star systems and anomalies on the ITS Pathfinder. She hopes to one day reach a more stable position, preferably in a planetary facility.

Steven Zhou: 42 years of age, Steven Zhou is the youngest member of the Imperial Science Divison to reach the level of Junior Director (most are 60 years old +, average lifespan is 178 years) and has quickly gained respect amongst his peers. Although he is known as a dependable and honest worker, he tends to get overwhelmed easily and shuts down when he gets too overwhelmed.

Imperial Science Department: The Imperial Science Department is the primary research and development portion of the Technocracy, involving every single branch of science from physics and statecraft to void craft engineering and biology. It is considered to be the second most honourable position one can obtain within the Technocracy behind joining the armed forces. While it is undisputed that the Imperial Science Division is the most efficient in the known galaxy, its complete and utter disregard for ethics and morals is the most targeted topic for critics.

Tech-World 新武汉 (New Wuhan): The 21st planet to be colonized by the Technocracy, New Wuhan got its name from an ancient Earth city in eastern Asia. It is a tidally-locked planet, with glaciers and freezing conditions on the night side, a tropical climate that is slightly hotter than Earth's rainforests on the day side and temperate climates on the twilight belt. The capital city, Zhonghai City, is located in the twilight belt. New Wuhan is known as the scientific capital of the Technocracy and many seek to work there but often don't meet the requirements.