“Are you certain? Run the scans again.” Kuumaarke sat alert in her captain’s chair.

“Captain, I’ve scanned it three times and double checked the data each of those times. There is no doubt in my mind at this point,” Becaal, chief science officer of the L.S.S. Reskava, excitedly gave his report to his superior. “The Gon’cra Nebula is synthetic, and according to our scans it hasn’t been around for more than two, three hundred years, tops.” The implications of this information were astounding. He knew his captain, a fellow scientist, fully grasped the situation.

“So it’s an artificial nebula and a recently made one at that! I don’t think our friends in the Alliance have any data on such a phenomenon. We may have actually discovered something completely new here…” Kuumaarke’s mind was reeling. “But why? Why would anyone make a nebula?”

“Speaking completely hypothetically, Captain? Nebulas are known navigational hazards to most species capable of interstellar travel. Traveling through one isn’t usually advisable, especially when you can simply navigate around them to advance.”

“Go on,” said Kuumaarke, listening intently.

“That being said, a nebula would be a good place to hide something… or a lot of somethings. A navigational hazard that scrambles or jams most sensors, is difficult to travel through, and could severely damage or destroy your ship? Such a thing would make for great camouflage under certain conditions.”

“I see your point. Intriguing.”

“Unless you take proper precautions… modify your shielding and life support, enhance your sensor suite… going into a nebula is a risky proposition at best. The average passerby would probably just fly by and say ‘Oh look, a nebula’ without noticing anything of interest was hidden in there... if they bothered to look at all.” Becaal had obviously been thinking this through while running his scans.

Kuumaarke smiled. “Whoever made this nebula has something they want to hide. But this is too fascinating to leave be. Let’s call our friends. I think they’ll want to see this, too.”

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With the threat of the Tzenkethi looming overhead, a new mystery presents itself. On Tuesday, April 25th, experience our latest featured episode “Mirrors and Smoke” and discover the secrets of the Gon’cra Nebula. “Mirrors and Smoke” comes out with Season 13 “Escalation”, and continues our “New Frontiers” storyline. It includes great rewards that you can earn over the course of several weeks.

For a limited time, “Mirrors and Smoke” will be available to all players level 10 and up (Romulan players must have selected a faction). After this, it will be in our normal mission journal progression.

Ryon “Melange” Levitt

Staff Content Designer

Cryptic Studios