=Babylon= 
The Babylon gate opens on to an unremarkable moon in a tidally-locked orbit around a scorched terrestrial planet quite close to a yellow sun. The second extrasolar location to be explored, the moon was named after the mythological city once known as the “Gateway of the Gods.” Initial studies by [[Gatekeeper Corporation|Gatekeeper]] researchers found nothing of interest aside from some oddities in the shape and patterns of the impact craters scoring Babylon’s surface.
Later, the [[Martian Gate]] was also found to open here, and shortly after Babylon became headline news. One of the study teams brought to the moon by [[Pathﬁnder]] had the luck of detecting an unknown object orbiting within the star’s corona. Further analysis determined that it was most likely a spacecraft of unknown origins.
Despite the launch of several probes to investigate the object, further attempts to study or even reach it have been largely futile. The craft maneuvers away from approaching aircraft and seems to employ cloaking measures that enable it to effectively hide deep within the corona. The probes that have gotten close have been disabled, presumably destroyed by unknown defensive systems. Gatekeeper initiated one recon of the object with a team of explorers sleeved in sundiver morphs; these were all destroyed. Further efforts to reach and study the ship are underway by both Gatekeeper and an inner system hypercorp, Sirius Surveys. Recent maneuvering has taken the ship closer to the star’s chromosphere; should it be able to take shelter there, it will remain out of our reach.
None of the planets or moons in Babylon’s star system seem likely candidates for having developed life. Though it is possible the makers of the craft originally accessed this system via the gate, building the ship here, it remains a distinct possibility that the craft originated from another system and is indeed capable of interstellar travel.
||>   ||= **Babylon** ||
||> **Type** ||= Tidally-Locked Rocky Moon ||
||> **Primary Star** ||= G4V (Yellow Dwarf) ||
||> **Satellite of** ||= Agade ||
||> **Gravity** ||= 0.09 g ||
||> **Diameter** ||= 950 km ||
||> **Atmospheric Pressure** ||= Negligible ||
||> **Atmospheric Composition** ||= Trace Oxygen and Helium ||
||> **Surface Temperature (Min/Mean/Max)** ||= -150 C / 60 C / 450 C ||
||> **Day Length** ||= 1.5 days ||
||> **Orbital Period** ||= 1.5 days ||
||> **Satellites** ||= None ||
||> **Gate Access** ||= Martian Gate, Pandora Gate ||
==Impact Crater Analysis== 
**[Begin Excerpt from Sirius Surveys Report on Babylon Surface]**
I am now reasonably convinced that the atypical and precise nature of the scoring marks over the surface of the satellite are inconsistent with the original micrometeorite impact theory postulated by Dr. Edhino. It is easy to see why it would be the prevailing assumption, with the obvious similarities to Earth’s moon and the fact that mysteries require more work and thus a longer stay here—and who wants that? I have begun to suspect that they actually indicate weapons ﬁre, though why someone would be using this moon for target practice is beyond me. Well, unless they’ve been stationed here as long as I have, in which case “boredom” strikes me as an adequate reason.
Note these samples. Here we have multiple sites found with deep scoring, sand fused. The average depth reaches five meters below the surface, with some going as deep as thirty meters. As suggested in advanced modeling, sites are invariably parallel. The spacing between glass furrows is consistent. It almost looks like straﬁng runs.
Also of interest are the atypical silicates found at thirty-nine impact locations. These samples match each other within a 7.05% variance. We have not found any evidence of the silicates at other (more traditional) impact sites or as part of the moon’s crust. Though precise calibration is difficult, the
youngest of these samples I estimate to be around thirty years standard, accounting for surface erosion, which is minimal. I’d place the oldest at three thousand years minimum, possibly far
older. It is quite possible that more ancient samples may be undetectable due to erosion and other environmental factors.
**[End Excerpt]**
==Incident Debriefing Report==
**Subject:** Obano Bunuel, Operations Agent, Cyan Clearance
**Assignment:** Babylon Rascal Project
**[Begin Transcript]**
We took a nice, slow approach and followed all of our standard operating procedures to the letter. We made a sweep of the area ﬁrst, establishing that our ship was the only one in the immediate vicinity, not that we expected much to be out there. We analyzed the coronal environment carefully to make sure there were no hidden surprises lying in wait. We measured the star’s output against our records to ensure consistency. We tracked Rascal’s position and proﬁle for any signs of response.
Everything was exactly as we expected to find it. Any deviations were well within accepted tolerance levels.
Satisfied that all was according to plan, we steered ourselves on a gradual intercept course. When we were about four hours out, Fernanda initiated the scan sequence. We knew to expect some interference from the solar EM, but we ﬁgured it was a safe range from which to start. We were wrong.
Thirteen seconds into our scans, Rascal’s telemetry suddenly changed. We saw a ripple along the outer hull and ﬂuctuations in the outer shell. Seams appeared where there had never been any before. We were all so excited. Rascal was online, and we were receiving pings. It was scanning us back. I think Zander was the only one with the sense to be afraid.
I was watching Rascal through the long-range sensors as it turned and a series of long narrow ﬂanges or doors of some kind opened on one end. We actually started receiving some data on the interior, but I couldn’t make a lot of sense of what was on the monitors at ﬁrst. Then I realized: Rascal was organic. It was alive.
That’s when we were hit. I’m not sure what the pulse was, but it took out both Fernanda and Zander and crippled my systems. I had just enough time to egocast back out. Then I woke up here. 
I know from the review that those last sensor readings we received didn’t make it back. But I remember, right before I evacuated, that the scans were picking up some intriguing energy patterns from inside Rascal. Four of them, in fact. If you ask me, I’d say I was picking up readings of four things that were alive.
**[End Transcript]**
==Day in the Life of a Salamander==
**Public Lifelog Excerpt**
**Source:** Islar Tennin, salamander-sleeved engineer, [[Ukko Jylina|Ukko Jylinä]]
**[Begin Excerpt]**
I’m telling you, I’ve seen nothing like it. Not even that storm with the crazy ﬂare patterns two years ago can compare. There must have been almost two thousand of the big guys in harbor to see the presentation. I’ve never seen that many suryas together. Gatekeeper had pulled out all of the stops on this recruiting mission. The new broadcast rig they hooked up made our old tower look like garbage. “Oh, keep it, regardless,” they say, with a careless wave.
So what was all the fuss about? Well get this, they want to recruit a squad of Solarians to gatecrash! They want to shift us to a system called Babylon, to make contact with something they think is living in the corona of the star there. None of the old singers have ever been through a gate before, but Gatekeeper’s proxies were all smiles, conﬁdent that it could be done. “All parameters have been explored satisfactorily,” which I guess is hypercorp speak for “no problem” or something like it. Ushoma and I are betting that they already crammed a mindless surya through a gate without just getting sushi on the far end, so they ﬁgure they’re good to go.
Despite the danger, this proposal was actually hot buzz. I’ve never seen so many surya spot to each other so quickly. No surya had ever swam in the corona of another star before. It screams adventure to them. There’s already talk of forming a new tribe, of spreading the family to other suns.
You ask me, they’re crazy. One sun is all I need. I joined the sun swimmer culture to get away from working with corps and signing my life away in contracts. This little newt can see the danger all too clearly in the teeny, tiny ﬁne print.
**[End Transcript]**

[ [[Home]] | [[Setting Information]] | [[Gatecrashing Ops]] | [[Places of Interest]] | [[Extrasolar Systems]] ]