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

Ever since [[Nick Croshaw]] first successfully transited a [[jump point]], scientists have studied and theorized the phenomena that makes such inter-system travel possible. For years, the prevailing belief was that the gravitational pull from a [[star]] combines with some yet-to-be identified circumstances to create these expressways through space. They looked for correlations between the type of star in a system, its number of jump points, and exactly where they appeared. Despite a wealth of theories on how a star’s gravitational pull plays into jump point formation, there was no scientific consensus.

Then the [[Min system]] was discovered, resetting most scientific thinking on the subject. The system has no star. It contains only a rogue [[gas giant]] with four orbiting [[moons]].

== The Dark System ==

In the pantheon of systems discovered by Humanity, Min is utterly unique due to its lack of a sun. Rumors that a “dark system,” devoid of light, existed in certain outlaw circles for years, but most believed it to be nothing but a tall tale. These tales propagated because Min’s initial discovery was kept a secret for over two centuries.

That decision can be credited to the [[Hathor Group]], which owned a majority of the system now known as [[Nexus system|Nexus]] between 2468 and 2672. They mined its planets until almost all resources were exhausted, while enforcing few laws, which resulted in the strong outlaw presence that exists in the system to this day. At some point in 2473, a Hathor-owned ship discovered a jump into the Min system from Nexus. Exactly who flew through this first jump is unknown, so the discovery simply remains credited to the Hathor Group.

For over two hundred years, knowledge of Min’s existence remained a company secret. Historian [[Eaden Andres]] believes this secrecy was initially driven by a desire to keep the system’s resources for themselves. Only a handful of years after paying an exorbitant price for access to the Nexus system’s resources, Hathor executives worried about the bureaucratic nightmare and potential cost of accessing Min, if the UNE was informed of its existence.

Instead, Hathor Group CEO [[Russell Gurney]] kept Min a closely guarded secret, even going so far as to create a covert division to chart, scan and assess the system’s economic potential. (In an initial comm chain he stated that he wanted “the minimum number of people involved” which is where the planet would derive its name.)

When those numbers turned out to be underwhelming, the division was quietly disbanded in 2476. After that, most mentions of the system vanished from Hathor Group documentation, though some evidence suggests it was occasionally used as a dumping ground for toxic mining byproducts.

Before the Hathor Group relinquished control of Nexus in 2672, their internal archives suffered a massive hack. The coordinates to the Min jump point ended up among the vast stores of compromised data. According to historian Eaden Andres, rumors about the “dark system” began to circulate in criminal circles shortly thereafter.

== Rogue in Vogue ==

Despite whispers about Min’s existence, decades would pass before the truth was discovered, and it wouldn’t even be from its connection to Nexus. Instead, a second jump, to [[Ellis system|Ellis]], had been located by outlaws. It wasn’t until 2702, when the [[New United]] reported on an [[Advocacy]] sting of a ship smuggling ring, that Min finally became known to the wider [[UEE]]. The story became the basis for the blockbuster 2705 vid [[Unknown Origins]], which dramatized how undercover Advocacy Agent [[Hiram Qureshi]] discovered that outlaws were using a jump point from Ellis to Min to get stolen ships out of the system.

Direct access to a system that lacked a sun excited astronomers and fascinated the public. The UEE sent in their usual cadre of scientists and bureaucrats to investigate the system. Aside from the novelty, they determined that its lack of resource or habitable locations made it unworthy of claiming for the Empire.

Still, once Min’s jump coordinates were made available to the public, outlaws, who had been accessing Min for years, took advantage of the lack of law enforcement to ambush sightseers and researchers. Attacks become so prevalent that for years the UEE released travel advisories warning about the dangers of visiting Min. Still, Humanity has found a way to call this system home. A small settlement has sprung up on the system’s second moon, proving once again that even in the face of extreme circumstances, Humanity still finds a way to survive.