New AIR station under construction in Manifest, the central hub system of the new Exordium region.
Yulai Accord Amendment Establishes Exordium
Members of the CONCORD Inner Circle, along with AIR Laboratories, have signed an amendment to the Yulai Accords establishing special rules governing a new region of space: Exordium.
Exordium was charted by joint CONCORD and AIR expeditions that began in YC123. At a special public signing held at the Inner Circle Tribunal in orbit around Yulai VIII, AIR joined the five CONCORD members in agreeing that the newly founded region would receive special security protocols that prohibit all violence between the member states within the region. The agreement also extends to the safety protocols present in capsuleer interfaces.
The goal of this amendment and the settlement of this new region, according to AIR CEO Elida Balashirian, is to “create a space free from the conflicts that plague New Eden. Exordium offers us all a chance at a new beginning, one where we are free to learn and develop without the tempestuous dangers that plague the wider cluster.”
The first expedition to explore the stars that now make up Exordium began when AIR took over the capsuleer training program in YC123. It will contain over fifty star systems linked by a newly constructed network of stargates. This region’s only two-way connection to the rest of the New Eden cluster will be a single stargate leading to Yulai, which is currently under construction. Four shipcasters, each within an embassy constellation held by one of the four major factions, will also allow one-way access to that faction’s sovereign territory.
Star maps of Exordium in 2D (left) and 3D (right) projections.
Exordium: A Place For New Beginnings
Establishing a new region is no small feat. The spacefaring people of New Eden are used to moving between the stars with the assistance of stargates, which turn distances of light-years into seconds of travel. But what about when there is no gate present in a star system? Jump drives, capable of near instant travel between stars, can only plot courses to systems that have already been precisely charted. Otherwise, they risk hurling ships into dangerous phenomena. Historically, the only option has been limited conventional engines. This means that reaching new systems has been an expensive endeavor that takes decades to complete, and because of this, many stars within the New Eden cluster remain unexplored.
The star systems that make up Exordium have previously remained unsettled because their limited resources did not justify the cost of permanent occupancy. However, according to the Head of the Inner Circle Irhes Angireh, the lack of resources was actually a boon to this project, “When AIR first approached us with this plan, we quickly agreed that it would be important to select stars that would not be so desirable that they would become a new frontier for conflict. Our interest was to establish a space that would foster unity and a spirit of exploration, rather than somewhere that would become a new beachhead to be conquered.”
The largest technical problem the new endeavor faced was time. The decades it normally takes to explore new star regions would have made the logistics of establishing an entirely new region prohibitive.
According to Elida Balashirian, the solution came in the form of AIR’s proprietary super-stable warp drive technology, “Though impractical for system exploration due to its unique capacitor restrictions, our drives allow colony ships to maintain warp between the stars. This innovation turned decades of travel into just a few short years.” AIR and CONCORD dispatched construction and research teams aboard vessels fitted with these drives to Exordium. Since arriving, they have been hard at work building the nascent infrastructure for this new region.
Balashirian believes that Exordium will be a refuge for innovation and study. In the near future, all capsuleer training programs will be relocated to Exordium. “From this cradle all new capsuleers will rise,” Balashirian announced, “building the foundation of expertise they need to venture out across the rest of New Eden.”
CONCORD's goals appear to be aligned with AIR’s, though not identical. CONCORD will be enforcing strict security limitations that prohibit conflict between nations and capsuleers alike. They hope to use the region as a safe haven to foster unity between their member states, providing a space in which continued diplomatic communication can be guaranteed, no matter how dire the situation becomes in the wider cluster. CONCORD Director General Panaja Paukonsuo told the Scope that, “In recent years, we have seen just how fragile the political links between nations can be. We have invited the Amarr, Caldari, Gallente, and Minmatar to construct their own infrastructure in Exordium’s embassy constellations to ensure that a path to peace always remains open.”
The embassy constellations will be held as sovereign territory of their assigned faction, in a similar manner to embassy buildings seen elsewhere in the cluster. The Amarr Empire has dispatched Missionary Fleets to take up residency in the newly dubbed constellation of “Haven”. Meanwhile, in “The Crucible” constellation, Caldari Megacorporations have negotiated a rigorous program for state-supported capsuleer training. The Gallente’s interim government has established the “Federation Free-Zone”, a provisional district which will not be added to the electoral charter until after the current election is complete. Lastly, the Minmatar Republic has opened up the constellation of “Strokar” to clans of every tribe for settlement. Those displaced by the Tabbetzur incident of YC127 and the Turnur incident of YC124 have been given first right to settle. Many of these displaced clans have welcomed the opportunity to make a new home in the protected region.
Exordium may not, however, be as safe as these settlers would hope. Despite CONCORD’s bold claims of enhanced security, early scouts have reported that hostile elements have already begun to infiltrate Exordium. Guristas pirates, Angel Cartel, the Serpentis Corporation, and even Blood Raiders have been spotted. Working with their own systems that lack CONCORD protocols, these hostiles are not subject to Exordium’s safety measures. Paukonsuo has assured the people of New Eden that “we will be cracking down hard on these infiltrators.” Once the region opens up, pilots can expect mission assignments and special operations to help support CONCORD’s efforts.
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