The countdown reached J-Minus Zero. Mariel engaged the Jump drives, and they soundlessly entered Jump Space via the wormhole created by the burst of energy and flood of exotic particles converted from the L-Hyd fuel consumed in the Jump. In a week, give or take, they would be on Qarant.

In reply to GM (msg # 1):

A day or so out from Qarant, Lorain held a council-of-war in the ship's crew rec area. A readout appeared on the screen, along with a map of the planet.



QARANT/JUNGLEBLUT 0202 E558260-7 NONINDUSTRIAL G A

PLANET: FIRST OF 3 IN SYSTEM PERIOD 106.5 DAYS DENSITY 1.08 STANDARD ROTATIONAL PERIOD 38 HOURS, 19 MINUTES 28.09 SECONDS AXIAL TILT 5^o 15'18.8"

"Qarant is divided into two zones. Our zone, the League's zone, is in the western part of the main continent. To the left of the "Green Line". Theirs is to the east of the line of control.

"References in recovered native inscriptions and texts to the "Place of the First comes" of the "Great City of the Founders" intrigued Institute scientists for several months. It was definitely established in 1107 that these refernces were to a city, as yet undiscovered, which was most likely the initial landing point for the human colonists who settled Qarant. In the end we were able to locate the site on the Desaekhe side of the zone boundary but were too late as the Hegemony had already beat us to the punch.

"The Hegemony had already discovered the city as a result of orbital and aerial photography and ground-penetrating radar, thermal, magnetic anomaly and densitometer sensors. Like, this was the work of the missing scout, Dumar. Followup ground surveys by scout parties in late 1107 located the city beneath a broad mudflat along the river Zenatar close to the river delta. This site was over 600 km distant from all previous sites discovered by either group.

"A cluster of spires, a dome, and other landmarks were just visible above the sediment. Originally these were thought to be close to the surface and thus cataloged during preliminary surveys as evidence of a minor settlement at best. These structures, plus the patterns of streets, buildings and infrastructure grid, were later found to be buried much deeper under the mud flat than originally thought. We recently revised the scale of development to that of a major urban area. The theory is that a nearby active volcano erupted several times over the period of a decade, covering the site in a layer of ash and leading it to be abandoned. Then the ruins were buried under repeated massive mud flows from the plateau to the north of the city, burying all but the most massive structures. By all accounts, the Hegemony scientists are excavating remarkably intact relics which have been excellently preserved by the mud and the excellent climate of the region.

"Following is a revised map of the site, which straddles the Zenatar River. Excavations by the Hegemony scientists have intensified over the last two months. They even colocated their starport to provide easier access to the site.

"As mentioned in the past is the fact that Qarant, along among the Zhodani-influenced cultures which flourished in the Far Frontiers before the waves of emigration of the early Third Imperium, had a culture that employed parts of the Vilani language and script. The mystery of how a Vilani-speaking people came to settle on Qarant is of great interest to archaeologists involved in the investigation.

"If we land in the League zone, to the west, we will be approaching from the left side of the map."

Ken looked over the data and maps.  "So we land at the League class E port under our cover of a resupply mission.  That should get us planetside.  Then we'll need to get overland to the dig and somehow figure where the key location might be if there are any."

Hmmm, that's quite the overland hike.  The air raft would help, but we may need to make a supply run or two first.  Depending on what we find, we may not have sufficient carrying capacity to get everyone out along with any artifacts in one trip.  Blake stares at the map.

We could also move the Empress up closer, some real NOE flying & stash her nearby - a quick dash by air raft across the border.  Those navy bases worry me though along with any hedge ground units.  Wouldn't want to start a shooting war ...

In reply to Blake Renfield (msg # 4):

"I don't know about the ship, but doing it by A/R would be easier on us, and faster to get away.  It also shouldn't ping on anybody's radar if they're looking at the sky, since it can be driven between trees and cruft."