Cal,

Hoffer asked me to pass on to you all the information we have on the Dante system, and our plans for finding out more.


 

The Dante System

This large, unpredictable binary system was colonised early in the Cluster's history and was used as a 'stepping stone' to the mineral-rich system of Hoffer's Wake.

The primary star, a main sequence G class about 1.5 times the size of the sun is closely orbited by a white dwarf, whose intense gravity constantly pulls material away from its companion. Eventually the gas accumulating around the dwarf reaches a critical temperature of about ten million degrees and a thermonuclear reaction is triggered, throwing off the gas cloud into space in a violent explosion.

The effect is like periodically exploding a very powerful nuclear warhead, producing a deadly wave of radiation that sweeps across the system, and sterilising everything in its path. This phenomenon occurs every two to three hundred years, and eighty years ago the Dante colonists were unfortunate to witness it. Not only was the colony destroyed, the radiation made the system impassable to jump capable craft, totally isolating the Hoffer's Wake system from the rest of the cluster until an alternative route was forged via Coyote twenty years later.

Since the destruction of the first colony and the irradiation of the system there have been no recorded human visits to the system.


 

As you can see, it's not much.

We now realise the radiation levels must have dropped enough to make capsule jumps into and out of the system possible. The Marauders undoubtedly set up home there because the whole cluster believes Dante to be inhospitable, inaccessible, and uninhabited.

The main interstellar L-Point in Dante is far enough from the suns that it would be the first point to become usable as the radiation levels decreased. It's likely that this is what the Marauders are using to jump to Firefrost.

We've dug up an obscure reference that suggests there was a second interstellar L-Point, near the planet Faust. We don't know where this L-Point leads, as the records are incomplete. We do know that the L-Point is very close to the system center, which means that until very recently it must have been unusable due to high radiation levels.

However, we've calculated that the radiation levels will have dropped enough that the Faust interstellar L-Point should now be usable. This means there could be a back-door into the Marauder system - one the Marauders don't know about.

The problem is that the gravitational changes caused by the mass ejected from the suns during the cataclysm means that we have to survey the L-Point and recalculate its jump metrics before we can find out its destination and use it to enter the system.

So what's the plan?

We're going to sneak a scout-ship into the Dante system. It will scout the Faust L-Point and transmit the jump data back to us. Additionally it attempt to locate any Marauder bases in the system.

The ideal vessel would be small, fast and stealthy. Unfortunately the League doesn't have the right ship available at this time. Fortunately for us, your Command Section is exactly what we need, so we'd like you to volunteer for this vital mission.

Please fly your Command Section to rendezvous with our Scout ship the Baden Powell. We'll transmit you the coordinates. The Baden Powell will brief you on the details of how we're going to get you into the Dante system.

When you're in the Dante System find the L-Point and any Marauder bases, then transmit the data back to us. We'll then send a ship to retrieve your vessel.

Good luck.

Natashia Blake
League Militia