- Joined
- Jan 5, 2020
- Messages
- 86
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- 82
The Hollow
Tucked away spinward of the Outer Rim, several parsecs beyond Teth and at the edge of the Baxel sector, is this large astronomical object. A wide tunnel exists in the back of it, which connects to a series of other smaller tunnels and a couple large caverns that each have room for several light freighter craft to fly through and land within. Anything the size of a cruiser or larger would have a tight squeeze and would probably scrape the hull the entire way if it could even fit.
There is just enough mass, density, and a tiny proto-planet core, that it produces a slight amount of gravity - enough so that a being can float around with big hops, and also survive on its surface without a vac-suit -- though a rebreather is still necessary for most to breathe. Some of the nearby asteroids tend to get caught in the object's little gravity well, occasionally orbiting it or falling into its surface.
One would be able to feel a more intense degree of temperature the further they go on these orbiting asteroids away from the Hollow. Individuals closer to the edge of the object's gravity well in the direction of the system's star will feel a near unbearable amount of heat, while being on the opposite side near the void of space will leave one feeling frigid and frozen if they stay out there too long. While standing on the surface of the object without any temperature resistant gear on, one would be able to feel the vast contrast of temperatures on both sides of them at the same time.
The tunnels and chambers were formed by a young exogorth before it eventually outgrew the celestial object and moved to a much larger one that passed through the system a few hundred cycles or so ago. The exact time is not actually known. The tunnels and caverns it left behind are lined with remnants of the space slug's ancient discarded habitat, all of which are covered in pitch-black darkness. It is unknown what all lurks in the discarded hollows of the exogorth's abandoned refuge, but it would have been collecting various small ships and other vacuumbreathers for at least a billion cycles.
The system's unnamed and very dim orange dwarf star looms in the distance, gradually pulling the Hollow and the other debris in the planetless system around it in a wide orbit. The system and star are unofficially discovered, and has thus far only been used by smugglers, pirates, and other spacers looking to hide from the rest of the galaxy.
The asteroid belt, and interference from the planet's internal structure, makes it difficult to get any kind of clear signal in and out of the area -- giving those within it a sense of being cut off and isolated from the rest of the galaxy until they reemerge from the asteroid belt. The faintest bit of signal would be able to get through, if one were standing on the tip of the object, just above the concentration of asteroids that run along the middle of the Hollow.
_____Intent
Personal lore to expand Kyosuke Yamato's story, whose father used this is a stepping stone for smuggling, and to add a neutral rest stop for affiliated characters or others who just want a place to gather and explore. Credit to @The Good Doctor for the layout.
