View source for Comm-Link:Galactic Guide - Kabal System

After nearly six years of work as a stellar surveyor for the [[Imperial Cartography Center]], [[Usuni Colo]] had never taken as much as a sick day. By 2941, his supervisor hadn’t suggested that Colo take a vacation, she mandated it. Faced with three weeks of nothing to do, Colo knew there was only one place he wanted to go. Fascinated by the [[Outsiders]], he traveled to [[Mya]] in the [[Leir System|Leir system]] to see firsthand how isolationism had affected the planet and its people.

Unfortunately for Colo, his attempts to talk his way past the traveler zone to get the ‘real experience’ got him expelled from the planet. Still faced with a couple weeks of enforced downtime, Colo took his time returning home to the [[Elysium System|Elysium system]]. And as a member of an ICC Stellar Surveyor team, he was in the habit of scanning for [[Jump Point|jump points]] even when off-duty.

So on 2941.03.11 when his scanners hit an anomaly that looked like a new jump point leaving the Leir system, Usuni Colo was professional rather than surprised. What would ultimately surprise him would be what lay on the other side. He’d learn that he hadn’t discovered this system at all. Only rediscovered it.

'''Exploration Excitement'''

Colo took a number of initial scans of what became known as the Kabal system, which Colo named in honor of the famous 27th century musical group. The scans found a [[F-type main sequence star]], three planets, and an asteroid cluster. Upon returning to UEE space, he immediately reported the discovery and logged a special request that his ICC unit be assigned to scan and explore the system he discovered. The UEE granted Colo’s petition, and he returned to the system with the rest of his team shortly thereafter.

Their initial assessment of the system was overwhelmingly positive. [[Kabal II]] and [[Kabal III]] were located within the habitable zone, and Kabal III’s [[oxygen]]-based atmosphere meant it had the potential to be a turnkey planet. Excitement swelled among government officials, since finding a naturally habitable world would provide incredible benefits and resources without the expense of [[terraforming]]. Colo and the rest of his team were immediately deployed to take more detailed scans of Kabal III.

The ICC’s standard protocol is to keep the initial assessment of systems confidential until further evaluations have been made and details verified. Yet, somehow Kabal’s assessment leaked. News about the existence of a planet that might be immediately habitable caused a media sensation.

Critics of [[Kelos Costigan|Imperator Costigan]] were suspicious; they claimed the leak was a calculated move on the part of his administration. Only weeks prior, the [[Historical Truth Act|Historical Truth Act of 2941]] declassified a trove of documents, many of which were from the [[Messer Era|Messer era]] and revealed many of the propaganda techniques Messer’s government used to manipulate the public. Although this was hardly a new revelation and obviously none of the released documents directly related to Costigan’s administration, columnists and critics drew tenuous comparisons between the tactics previously used and actions of the current administration, which had been mired in a series of embarrassing gaffes. The leak of Kabal’s initial assessment was seen by some as a way to get the populace to focus on the UEE’s future instead of the past.

Once the confidential report leaked, the ICC decided to embrace the buzz being generated. Usuni Colo was even scheduled to tell his incredible discovery story to [[Beck Russum]] for an [[Empire Report]] exclusive. The event was hyped across the spectrum for days, then abruptly canceled. When no official explanation was given for the interview getting canned, rumors started to swirl. After the official assessment of the Kabal system was delayed, also for unspecified reasons, the '''[[UEE Senate|Senate]]''' [[Subcommittee on the Interior|Subcommittee of the Interior]] decided to get involved.

'''The Known Unknown'''

In October of 2941, [[Rebecca Alves]], chair of the ICC, was summoned before the Senate Subcommittee of the Interior to discuss her stewardship of the agency. Senators focused their inquiries on Kabal III and wondered why the system‘s official report was late. Alves dodged most questions, claiming she couldn’t discuss specifics until the official report was released. When pressed, Alves became more evasive. This drew ire from Senators, who openly wondered who was really running the ICC if its director couldn’t provide a timeline.

Alves’ appearance before the Senate subcommittee was considered a disaster. It re-energized the debate over Kabal and reinforced the claim that the Imperator was really controlling the release of information. Faced with mounting public pressure the ICC finally published their official assessment of the Kabal system in early November of 2941. Suddenly, it became obvious why there was so much secrecy surrounding the system.