Interstellar Initiative #2 – The mysteries of the Witch Head

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The Witch Head Nebula is currently under the spotlights, thanks to the Interstellar Initiative #2: The Enclave.

For years, Witch Head was a popular tourist destination for its spectacular views.

The region remained silent until July 11 3305, when Professor Alba Tesreau of Aegis Research announced that an initiative to locate new Thargoids Barnacles had uncovered new surface sites in the Witch Head.

But what is so important about this nebula? What are we going to find there in Thargoids territory?

To understand this article, I advise you to learn more about the Thargoids, and the stories around them.

Summary:

Merope’s Barnacles

On January 15, 3302 (2017), Barnacles are found on Merope in the Pleiades Nebula.

This is a Thargoid life form.

Thargoids Interceptors come to supply here from time to time. This would be a planetary extraction tool turning materials into components and fuels essential to Thargoids.

Many materials can be found on these sites, as well as the famous Meta-Alloys that we now know how to synthesize on Maia – Darnielle’s Progress. These are extremely effective & robust to repair the damage caused by Thargoids devices while effectively fighting against corrosion and heat. We have been able to create various technologies, including anti-corrosion cargo racks and various Anti-Xeno equipment developed by AEGIS: the defense & research group working on the Thargoids.

Our needs in Meta-Alloys are ever growing in 3305, and the current Barnacles and synthesizers are not producing enough to allow us for progress in combat and Xenos research.

Note that the California Nebula also contains a lot of Barnacles and Meta-Alloys. The Alliance is present there and even has a facility called “Mic Turner”.

However, they mainly exploit the mushrooms Bark Mounds and Anemones of the region without us knowing the exact reason. They were attacked last year by some pirates, for the Hafnium 178 they produce; An extremely explosive element.

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The Meta-Alloy Hunt

AEGIS Research then commissioned a very large amount of exploration data from the galactic community, aiming to analyze and detect new Barnacles sites ready to be harvested.

These data confirmed the presence of meta-alloy deposits in the Witch Head Nebula. The news has triggered efforts to swiftly establish a human presence in the area.

On July 11, 3305 (2019), the Alliance, the Empire, and the Federation each launched simultaneous campaigns to gather resources for the construction of new stations and megaships in the Witch Head Nebula, in order to exploit the meta-alloys produced by the Barnacles in the region.

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To Witch Head and Col 70 Sector

Note that on April 11 3303, the Witch Head Science Center opened a scientific asteroid base in the heart of the Witch Head Nebula, in HIP 23759. The faction assigned to manage the station is called Xeno Research Group and investigates the traces of Thargoids in the area.

HIP 23759, in the Witch Head Nebula, is only 328.72 LY from Col 70 Sector FY-N C21-3.

“Waow… nice… Col what? It doesn’t help at all”, you will tell me?

Wait wait wait, you lovely pilot, you must know that Col 70 Sector FY-N C21-3 is an extremely important system for the Thargoids Science we’ve led for the past years.

The community has demonstrated through experiments on various Thargoids devices, such as the Probes and Structures Devices, that this system is a reference for Thargoids communications.

Something important must be there and… the system has been permit locked by the Circle of Independent Elite Pilots (CIEP) for years, barring access by locking many systems around Col Sector, including the famous Col 70 Sector FY-N C21- 3.

A permit is mandatory to access the system, and the latter is impossible to obtain.

► Learn more about Thargoids devices.

Getting closer to Witch Head would be a great opportunity to learn more about the Thargoids civilization… but we would take a big step further in their territory.

The Thargoids are extremely territorial and our first steps in the very close Pleiades nebula in 3302 had already awakened their anger. Since then, we have been at war with them.

For some days now, they have stopped all their assaults on the human bubble of Sol, perhaps to prepare and protect Witch Head and Col Sector?

Admiral Aden Tanner, chief military liaison for Aegis, announced:

“Multiple reliable sources have reported a mass departure of Thargoid craft. Their forces vanished from dozens of locations within hours of each other. Only the Maia and Merope systems are still reporting Thargoid activity. Our theory is that the Thargoids have retreated due to our defence operations depleting their numbers. Then again, they may simply be reconsidering their strategy. Either way, Aegis will continue to monitor the situation.”

In response, Professor Ishmael Palin of the Palin Research Centre offered words of warning:

“Celebrating any kind of victory over the Thargoids would be premature. We have no proof that their withdrawal was a result of human activity, and this action is at odds with their highly territorial nature. Nevertheless, this is still a significant – if mysterious – development.”

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The Thargoids-Guardians War

The Thargoids went to war against the Guardians millions of years ago. The Guardians would have inadvertently colonized an area of ​​space where the Thargoids had planted Barnacles, thus viewing the area as their territory.

The Guardians Ancients & Structures sites we know today are only the edges of a large area, ​​the size of the bubble of Sol, covering what would be their former territory.

/!\ Col 70 Sector FY-N C21-3 may actually be a system close to the Guardians territory, marked by the Thargoids, just as the latter would have marked Merope close to the human territory. This could explain why we find so many Brain Trees in the vicinity of Col 70 Sector. These are a lifeform commonly found near Guardians sites.

The Guardians would eventually have expanded around Synuefe IH-T d4-14, where our current researches are being conducted, before defeating the Thargoids in the war and then retreating before the collapse of their civilization. This is why Guardians Structures contain traces of war data between the Thargoids and the Guardians.

► Learn more about Guardian-Thargoids war.

According to Professor Melville, a specialized scientist, the Guardians might have been forced to migrate from the “Guardian Site -” on the left to the “Guardian Sites +” on the right, a territory as wide as the human bubble during the war against the Thargoids, before winning the war thanks to the Constructs, their artificial intelligences.

The first Ancient site discovered by the galactic community, marked with a blue bookmark in “Guardian Sites -” is located only at the edge of the former Guardians territory, where the Tharg-Gard war happened.

The civilization of the Guardians would have been centered at the time on Regor Sector. In fact, many systems are locked in the Regor Sector. Same for Col 70 Sector further south, and even more in the Cone Sector even further south, and the Thargoids seem to fiercely protect it… something to hide?

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Soontill

Soontill 1 was rumoured to have a Circle of Independent Elite Pilots site where extensive researches on combined Human-Thargoids technologies were taking place. A tourist destination in-game confirms it.

It was originally an advanced Thargoids base, but it was lost by the Thargoids in the war against the Guardians.

According to a Galnet News from 3301, the Thargoids allegedly mentioned the name of Soontill in their writings in 3250.

The base would have been deliberately destroyed later using a weapon developed after a conflict between the CIEP, the last members of the INRA and another group (perhaps The Club (manipulation of human affairs)).

The weapon entered the planet’s crust and caused a flow of lava covering the region, as it can be seen in the image below, of Soontill 1.

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Cone Sector

Our last attempt to take a big step forward in the Thargoids researches in September 3304 (2018) led us to Cone Sector, well beyond our current researches.

Indeed, the science ship Gnosis had attempted a jump towards Cone Sector FN-J B9-0, where large signals of extraterrestrial origin had been detected.

During the megaship’s FSD jump, it was pulled out of hyperspace on September 6th, in Outotz ST-I d9-6, and attacked by a new form of Interceptors: the powerful Hydras.

The heavily protected expedition was a hecatomb, with the loss of hundreds of pilots.

Rapid repairs under cover were made and the megaship had to retreat to return to the bubble. We have been relentlessly attacked in the bubble for almost a year now, losing stations after stations and a lot of human lives.

In response to this expedition, the CIEP locked the Cone Sector FN-J B9-0 system, which would house many Hydra interceptors.

► Learn more about the Gnosis event.

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No time, hurry up, recap!

The Thargoids could come from Cone Sector , progressing to the Guardians via the Col Sector , then to the Humans via Witch Head and Pleiades .

could come from , progressing to the via the , then to the via and . The Brain Trees could be to the Guardians what the Barnacles are to the Thargoids : markers or boundary beacons producing materials.

could be to the what the are to the : markers or boundary beacons producing materials. Maybe the Brain Trees counter the Barnacles ?

counter the ? The Thargoids are very expansionist and sow the Barnacles wherever their civilization might flourish, as on Col Sector, Witch Head and Synuefe up to Soontill.

are very expansionist and wherever their civilization might flourish, as on Col Sector, Witch Head and Synuefe up to Soontill. The Guardians had a civilization slightly larger than the current human bubble.

had a civilization slightly larger than the current human bubble. Col 70 Sector FY-N C21-3 is a reference system for the Thargoids communications, used by Probes and Structures’s Devices on the surface.

is a reference system for the Thargoids communications, used by Probes and Structures’s Devices on the surface. Col 70 Sector FY-N C21-3 could be a large direction marker leading to the Guardians, just as they also marked Merope as a directional marker leading to the Humans.

could be a large leading to the Guardians, just as they also marked as a directional marker leading to the Humans. Witch Head is a big step towards Col 70 Sector, the Guardians and the Thargoids at the same time. If we can take on the possible many Thargoids assaults, we will have a lot of resources and information to draw from that place.

is a big step towards Col 70 Sector, the Guardians and the Thargoids at the same time. If we can take on the possible many Thargoids assaults, we will have a lot of resources and information to draw from that place. There are still way too many mysteries to unfold: California and the Alliance . Many Barnacles there, Bark Mounds and Anemones. Why is only the Alliance interested in it, and why do they have Hafnium 178? Cone Sector and its fierce army of Thargoids Hidden Thargoids-Humans Technologies in Soontill ? Why destroy the site? MetaDrive under the control of Sirius Corp allowing to jump further and stealthily. They allegedly betrayed Salomé by luring her associates to steal a large amount of Meta-Alloys from Darnielle’s Progress for their Drives projects. Where are the Constructs , the sapient Guardians’ AI? And many more…



Return to Summary

Multiple megaships will be sent to the Witch Head Nebula, allowing for multiple stations & science to be launched in there!

Hostile forces might be waiting for us, but it brings us closer to the important system of Col 70 Sector FY-N C21-3.

Are you ready to visit Witch Head and progress with the community on the Thargoids Lore?

Support your superpower by hauling commodities until July 22, to prepare for the expedition!