Our Stellar Cartography project has been interrupted by a spur of the moment expedition through an anomalous gravity distortion detected in Omicron Delta by famed Zoner Researcher Dr. Lexa Moreno. These distortions, unstable jump holes, appear sporadically throughout Sirius and linger only for a short while, so we thought it prudent to capitalize on the event. A number of Core warships were rallied as escort and - much to our dismay - numerous Order vessels also made their way through the anomaly. In the interest of mutual survival, we brokered a tentative cease fire between our ships, though we were not above utilizing them to protect our assets.
[23.12.2018 16:42:32]Core|APM-Ailuros: Mekal: At least the order's ships make for good shields against nomad fire
Core vessels provided a security perimeter for the research vessels present, among them the Ailuros and Dr. Moreno's vessel, while the spatial anomalies in LXP 48N were scanned and dissipated. Each anomaly's collapse triggered a retaliation from Nomad vessels in the area, though it should be noted that these Nomads appeared to behave and be structured somewhat differently than those we're accustomed to encountering in Sirius.
Performing a stellar cartography scan to pinpoint our whereabouts in space, it was determined that system LXP 48N exists far beyond the perimeter of Sirius, and is located in the far Perseus arm of the milky way.
Following the completed scans and collapse of all three present anomalies, a massive darkmatter storm was detected moving in on the system. All assembled vessels made their way into a local nebula for shelter, only to discover the nebula defended by a Nomad Minefield, and harboring numerous Nomad structures and dormant vessels. An alien jump gate at the center of the area was unpowered, and determined to be our only path back to Sirius following the dark matter storm's collapse of the entrance anomaly.
Whether it be out of Insanity, Incompetence, or possibly Nomad Influence, the captain of the Order warship "P'Tah" opened fire on the alien gate almost immediately after it was encountered.
[23.12.2018 17:22:57] Core|APM-Ailuros: Mekal: We have dozens of scientists and engineers here, and your solution to fixing the gate is shooting it?
[23.12.2018 17:23:44] Core|APM-Ailuros: Mekal: And the order claims to be our saviors, laughable
[23.12.2018 17:24:42] Core|APM-Ailuros: Mekal: I've a suggestion, doctor moreno
[23.12.2018 17:25:00] Core|APM-Ailuros: Mekal: Why dont we dismantle this moronic order ship and use the power cell he's carrying to reactivate the gate
It was deemed necessary, for the survival of all others present, to eliminate this potential threat to our escape. Core warships engaged and destroyed the P'Tah and recovered the Nomad Power Cell it was carying - possibly the source of the crew's unusual behavior - and it was used in conjunction with a second power source extracted from a nearby weapons platform by Dr. Moreno to re-activate the Alien Gate, providing a brief, unstable link back to Omicron Delta.
Significant data was gained from this excursion beyond Sirius, hopefully once analyzed it can be put to use for the Core.