Viltheed Hypergate (WRotP Contest)

[Erion Justeene]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: A submission for the Wondrous Ruins of the Past contest, Prompt 2: "The remnants of an ancient transportation network drift in the far Unknown Regions."
• Image Credit: Here and Here and Here
• Canon: Hypergate
• Permissions: N/A
• Links: Hypergate, Magnetar, Observation Pod

SETTING INFORMATION

• Astronomical Location Name: Viltheed Hypergate
• Classification: Hypergate connected to many Hyperlanes, powered by a Magnetar
• Location: The Unknown Regions/Wildspace
• Rotational Period: N/A
• Orbital Period: N/A
• Size: Massive
• Affiliation: None
• Population: Sparse
• Demographics: Unknown Regions species (e.g. Chiss, Lugubraa, Ebruchi, the occasional Croke or Thakwaa). Common Species: Humans, Duros, Droids, Ubese, Togrutans
• Accessibility: Limited due to the still strong magnetic field of the Magnetar that sits on the power conduit behind the gate, it's not as strong as it used to be but it will still cause problems.
• Description: A huge Hypergate constructed by the Rakata, when most of the stars and planets were young, they turned to the power of the Magnetar nearby to keep the gate open and retubing unused energy back into the neutron star so that it can keep powering it. Abandoned, but still active.

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POINTS OF INTEREST

• Magnetar: Remnants of a Blue Giant called Viltheed (Very large and very bright, thousands of times bigger than the Stars of Tatooine), this is the power source to the Hypergate, the magnetic field although degraded is still very strong. The Magnetar is connected to the Gate through Rakata Tech holding it close enough to gain a connective rebounding power source. Rakata needed a power source and what better than to use one of the most powerful objects in space as a battery. But with special shielding to prevent it from crumpling or distorting anything that is nearby.
• Hypergate: Vast, active, and elaborate. This can get anyone anywhere in a split second, a lost Hypergate that for its era heralded as the biggest gate ever built, this can easily fit a military-grade battle station inside with room to spare. The best part it is still active. With a specially adapted crew to maintain the technology and the tethers and shielding to the Magnetar. If you still hold the signature, you can go back to the gate from where you came out from.
• Eldritch: The beings that patrol the lesser travelled Lanes, these are huge ghastly creatures that destroy ships and eat anything that falls in. They are the reason the Gate was abandoned in the first place. They are usually more interested in their own business than attacking a weary traveller but will do so if disturbed.
• Control pod: With its rediscovery, the observation pod was built to make sure the gate is maintained and repaired after 10 thousand years of neglect and that the Magnetar doesn't slip-free and into the Hyperlanes branching from the main gate. The crew keep it open and keep the Eldritch from bleeding out from their pocket on the other side of the Galaxy. From here they can observe any expeditions that will be undertaken and rectify any problems that may arise with such old tech.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

Rakata needed a massive Gate built for a quick entry point to the rest of the galaxy, but they needed something powerful, something that can keep it open, a nearby Blue Star went supernova and formed into a Magnetar, these are Star remnants with a powerful magnetic field, they are a type of Neutron Star. They had the tech to bring the Gate to the selected source and was able to construct it with the magnetic pull in mind, the Magnetic Fields were used to keep the gates open and any excess energy is fed back into the Magnetar, thus keeping it active and extending its life far beyond normal.

But there was a little problem, they never thought of what horrors could be lurking beyond the entrance, nowhere they expecting to be attacked by an Eldritch abomination from the depths of the other side of the Galaxy. So, they had to fight off the terrors that slip through and the tumbling math of where they will end up once they go in. Soon with all the kinks hammered out, it became a major transport and commerce entry point. But the Eldritch Horrors were still there and within 75 years of its use, the neighbours made it too dangerous to use so it was left alone to stay forever active and abandoned 10 thousand years pass and in 874 ABY, two exploration ships stumble onto the Gate, that after all these years is still active. They took readings and took photographs. They had found something that defies reason as they know it.

Murad Justeene was the first to go through it with his crew of 5 and ended up in the Core and were also able to use the residue to return to the gate moments later in the first expedition for 10 thousand years. Even with the first people to cross it, the gate is still dangerous and needs further studies from scientists from across the Galaxy.

They were able to program destinations into the Hypergate and to add endpoints to avoid accidents or drifting. Which allowed many more expeditions into the Hyperlanes without danger, well except for the Eldritch that lurk in the lesser-explored areas. Care is still needed when around this Gate.