Taiheiyo Consortium Comms Center

[Zephyranthes]

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Incoming Transmission

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This is Chief Science Officer Makoto Sandoval reporting in after yesterday's expedition,

Around roughly 23:30 Standard Sirian Time, a joint ALG-Consortium exploration team managed to track down an anomaly we had registered as emanating from within the Sigmas.
Search teams scoured every known system until finally encountering an abandoned survey outpost around Grid B3 of Sigma-13. According to initial reports, the outpost was orbiting a miniature star with some type of sparkling disc around it. We were notified of the anomaly and were dispatched to investigate immediately.

Given that it was the maiden voyage of the Kon-Tiki, Board Member Sora Kobayashi captained the vessel for this historic occasion. After a short flight, we arrived at the anomaly, which we have named the Meidling Anomaly after the ALG gunboat who first spotted it. Initial photographs revealed something completely unnatural. Something that should not even exist on such a small scale.

According to initial scans by both the RV Kon-Tiki and the ALG R&D vessel Cirrus, the luminous Meidling Anomaly is composed of a mixture of hydrogen and helium, along with some other trace elements. What appeared to be superheated plasma churned throughout, and small flares and coronal effects were measured. The disc surrounding the Meidling Anomaly was composed of varying materials, ranging from frozen gases to floating metals. For all intents and purposes, the Meidling Anomaly resembles a microcosm of a protostar. I doubt this occurred naturally, however. The mere existence of such a structure contradicts many of our preconceptions regarding stellar formation and the very laws of physics. The scientists who once occupied the station orbiting the Meidling Anomaly must have created this thing.

Unfortunately, the former inhabitants of the station weren't around for us to ask questions. The station was completely devoid of any signs of life, save for some bacteria and one corpse left behind by the former inhabitants. According to doctors, he appeared to have shot himself in the temple with a pistol that was recovered from his right hand. Some among the survey team suspect some type of foul play, however. The individual was Asian and likely of Kusari origin, which isn't surprising given the region we're in.

Further investigation revealed a server room left mostly untouched by the outside world. As we had hoped, vast amounts of scientific data were present inside the hard drives. Science teams from both the Consortium and ALG recovered plenty of data files. I can't speak for ALG's researchers, but we're still decrypting the data aboard the Kon-Tiki. We hope it'll provide some insight as to the nature of both the Meidling Anomaly and the station orbiting it.

Some freelancers and Order came by to investigate, though the latter lacked any real equipment or expertise with which to conduct surveys. Instead, he just drank a bit and offered libations to nearby vessels. The freelancers in question belonged to a small corporate entity known as Star Industries, ironically enough. After we determined that the Meidling Anomaly was safe enough to approach, we permitted them to conduct their own studies. Naturally, we had already cleaned out the station before they could retrieve anything. They did find the body and some old small arms, though.

I'm not sure how long we have until the Meidling Anomaly dissipates, or even if it will dissipate. In the meantime, I've requistioned for some extra equipment for our studies from Ames Research Station. They should be arriving shortly.

Sandoval, signing off.

Makoto Sandoval
Guildmember and Chief Science Officer
RV Kon-Tiki

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Closing Transmission

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