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DATA SHEET: HYDRAS 12

NAME OF PLANET: HYDRAS 12

SIZE: ~4,000mi RADIUS (APPROX. EARTH SIZED)

DESCRIPTION:

Hydras 12 is an Earth-sized world; however, it is much closer to its parent star (Hydras Prime) than Earth is to Sol. Hydras is incredibly hot, possesses a single dense ring of dust, debris, and space junk, and is littered with all manner of technological detritus. At some point in its past Hydras was on the brink of habitability, however it appears that another intelligent and spacefaring species discovered the planet and elected to use it as an interstellar dumping ground. The planet’s “ring” is mostly composed of decommissioned ship hulls, abandoned satellites, rocket boosters, and other miscellaneous manufactured material.

The surface of the planet is thick with metal junk, crashed and/or decommissioned starships, and a vast number of trash-compacting pistons and metal-smelting smokestacks that are still in operation even hundreds of years after their estimated construction. The planet’s oceans are rusty-red in color due to high amounts of oxidized iron alloys, and the planet’s bitterly hot winds often stir up rust-based dust storms that fling particulates fast enough to strip paint off metal and flesh from bones. The planet, barely habitable in the first place, is a rusted hellscape due to the environmental destruction wrought by the precursor species.

POD MODIFICATIONS:

              Due to the high winds and abrasive nature of Hydras 12’s rust-sand and the corrosive properties of the planet’s oxidized oceans, all exploration pods deployed to Hydras 12 are to be unmanned to preserve explorer safety. Pods should be equipped with thrusters for flight, as exposure to the planet’s oceans will prove detrimental to pod operation. The pod should be as fast as is plausible and controllable, to avoid oncoming rust-storms.

              The pod should be small; The wrecked ships, abandoned industrial facilities, and other artefacts left behind by the precursors could prove to be a wealth of technological information, and only a small pod will be able to move amidst the fuselages in the wreckage.

              The primary objective of this expedition is to scan and catalogue as many unique forms of alien technology as can be found upon the planet’s surface, identify the power sources that maintain the machinery that is still functional, and try to ascertain what the purpose of the precursor actions on this planet are.

            The planet has no moons, but Hydras Prime (the system’s red sun) is close enough to the planet that even the planet’s nights are more like twilight on Earth.