Post by Insano-Man on Sept 24, 2018 10:02:15 GMT -5
Great Ball of Garbage
The far reaches of space are no stranger to derelict ships, abandoned stations, drifting junk fields, and other leftovers from the expansion of society. Some of the largest of these have often become tourist attractions, squatter resorts, and resource opportunities, as well. Some, however, have gained much different reputations, such as the representative in question; the so-called "Hulkersfeld", circling the star Langren's Cross within Roggeford territory.
The Hulkersfeld is a massive conglomeration of the aforementioned space junk, made up of countless hundreds of spacecraft, scrap, asteroids, and roughly every form of debris in space. The sheer size and mass of the Hulkersfeld has allowed it to maintain a small gravity well that continues to pull in debris near it. The Hulkersfeld has grown so quickly since its discovery in 2193 A.F. that it is believed it has accrued mass at an astonishing average of nearly one hundred tons per day. The sizable transient population of scavengers, salvagers, squatters, and curious wanderers has only helped fuel the growth of the junk mass with abandoned equipment, garbage, and an unfortunate amount of carelessly parked ships.
The interior of the Hulkersfeld is as strange as its exterior, if not more so. Life support from its constituent ships remains active in some compartments. Twisting, fused hallways of various ships and stations intertwine and lead to still-active fusion reactors, malfunctioning jump drives, and command centers sending out distress signals absorbed into the "hull" of the junk mass. Few have ever found the true center of the Hulkersfeld. Thanks much to its mystery and sheer size, many of those that frequent the Hulkersfeld have sought out the original vessel that was abandoned, believed to be at its core. Rumors abound as to what waits there; lost riches, undiscovered alien life, or even societies of outcasts hiding from the public eye.
History
The Hulkersfeld's history is likewise as much rumor as fact. Few ship logs have been recovered from the junk mass and fewer still have shed light on its formation. Only records of missing ships near its location have helped investigators learn more about its past - and even those scant few "facts" that can be assumed are still little more than assumptions. What is believed about the Hulkersfeld's origins is that it was originally a warship, the CSS Tunderoldt, a Garrant Commonwealth Space Navy supply cruiser ambushed and disabled by a Timosi destroyer group during the Timosi War. The ship was presumed lost with all hands - later corrected to 89 killed and 21 taken prisoner following the war - and a recovery effort was never assembled.
As the Tunderoldt was lost in the midst of a debris field in dead space, historians believe that it eventually collided with a planetoid of roughly similar size. The collision led to a destabilization of the debris field which, in turn, led to a slow accumulation of the field into a single, large object. Nearby construction sites abandoned at the beginning of the war and the privately-owned scrap field of the Scharbing & Richards industrial corporation - now a shadow of its former self thanks to the Hulkersfeld - contributed greatly to the Tunderoldt's expansion into the junk mass present today.
At present, the Hulkersfeld is home and workplace to roughly 380 independent and corporate salvage workers, an estimated 136 squatters, and regularly sees all manner of others - be they pirate, mercenary, or national - passing by or using the shelter of the Hulkersfeld's loosely orbiting debris field for gatherings and exchanges.
The far reaches of space are no stranger to derelict ships, abandoned stations, drifting junk fields, and other leftovers from the expansion of society. Some of the largest of these have often become tourist attractions, squatter resorts, and resource opportunities, as well. Some, however, have gained much different reputations, such as the representative in question; the so-called "Hulkersfeld", circling the star Langren's Cross within Roggeford territory.
The Hulkersfeld is a massive conglomeration of the aforementioned space junk, made up of countless hundreds of spacecraft, scrap, asteroids, and roughly every form of debris in space. The sheer size and mass of the Hulkersfeld has allowed it to maintain a small gravity well that continues to pull in debris near it. The Hulkersfeld has grown so quickly since its discovery in 2193 A.F. that it is believed it has accrued mass at an astonishing average of nearly one hundred tons per day. The sizable transient population of scavengers, salvagers, squatters, and curious wanderers has only helped fuel the growth of the junk mass with abandoned equipment, garbage, and an unfortunate amount of carelessly parked ships.
The interior of the Hulkersfeld is as strange as its exterior, if not more so. Life support from its constituent ships remains active in some compartments. Twisting, fused hallways of various ships and stations intertwine and lead to still-active fusion reactors, malfunctioning jump drives, and command centers sending out distress signals absorbed into the "hull" of the junk mass. Few have ever found the true center of the Hulkersfeld. Thanks much to its mystery and sheer size, many of those that frequent the Hulkersfeld have sought out the original vessel that was abandoned, believed to be at its core. Rumors abound as to what waits there; lost riches, undiscovered alien life, or even societies of outcasts hiding from the public eye.
History
The Hulkersfeld's history is likewise as much rumor as fact. Few ship logs have been recovered from the junk mass and fewer still have shed light on its formation. Only records of missing ships near its location have helped investigators learn more about its past - and even those scant few "facts" that can be assumed are still little more than assumptions. What is believed about the Hulkersfeld's origins is that it was originally a warship, the CSS Tunderoldt, a Garrant Commonwealth Space Navy supply cruiser ambushed and disabled by a Timosi destroyer group during the Timosi War. The ship was presumed lost with all hands - later corrected to 89 killed and 21 taken prisoner following the war - and a recovery effort was never assembled.
As the Tunderoldt was lost in the midst of a debris field in dead space, historians believe that it eventually collided with a planetoid of roughly similar size. The collision led to a destabilization of the debris field which, in turn, led to a slow accumulation of the field into a single, large object. Nearby construction sites abandoned at the beginning of the war and the privately-owned scrap field of the Scharbing & Richards industrial corporation - now a shadow of its former self thanks to the Hulkersfeld - contributed greatly to the Tunderoldt's expansion into the junk mass present today.
At present, the Hulkersfeld is home and workplace to roughly 380 independent and corporate salvage workers, an estimated 136 squatters, and regularly sees all manner of others - be they pirate, mercenary, or national - passing by or using the shelter of the Hulkersfeld's loosely orbiting debris field for gatherings and exchanges.
