Intelligence Report: Heptite Guild.

[Neptune 1,493]

Heptite Guild

Home of the Heptite Crystals; helping innovation throughout the galaxies.

The Heptite Guild is a Company, that is under the umbrella of the ExoSinian Eldyr Corporation that operates in the Epsus Galaxy. Despite having a parent corporation, the Mining Guild is quite independant and runs things how they like. They mine special crystals that are used in various pieces of technology. Due to the rarity of the crystals, they are usually quite expensive to purchase. The Guild itself does not sell the crystals. Instead, they are delivered to the Trading Station in the Vestibule of Enlightenment system where they can then he purchased by anyone who has the credits to do so.

The system itself is guarded by ExoSinian Corporate Security, with at least six ships at a time on patrol. They do not take kindly to pirates, or those who make any kind of hostile moves towards any of the facilities or workers on the planet or moon base. Thus the main Guild is not easy to attack and pirate. The Heptite Guild is open for individuals to come and apply for membership. They can be quite welcoming, and their hospitality is well known to be good.

Now for information regarding the actual planet where the Heptite Guild is location, which will give more information regarding the actual Guild, its History and facilities. 

Planet Name: Ballybran.

Native species: Humans were the first to colonise this planet, however there are many species living there.

Solar System: Ballybran is the Fifth planet of the star, Scoria [G type star] which is located in the Regulus II sector, Andromeda Galaxy. Scoria is a star with a high amount of sun-spot activity which contributes to the weather on Ballybran.

Planet Statistics: Ballybran has Gravity slightly lower than the galactic norm for human adaptability, a breathable atmosphere, more oceans than land mass, tidal complications caused by three moons, as well as an exotic meteorology stimulated by sunspot activity of the star, Scoria. 

Atmosphere Makeup: 76% nitrogen, 22% oxygen, a variable amount (average around 1.247%, National Centre for Atmospheric Research) water vapour, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and traces of hydrogen, helium, and other "noble" gases.

Natural satellites: Ballybran has three natural satellites, Shankill, Shillmore and Shanganaugh. Shankill is the largest of the three moons and is home of the Shankill Moon base. Shanganaugh is the smallest of the three and has an unmanned meteorology station. Shillmore also has a meteorology station, but it is manned by technicians who observe the weather on the planet every hour of everyday. Due to the orbits of these three moons, it causes tidal complications that make navigating the water extremely dangerous. It also contributes to the violent weather seen on Ballybran. When in a particular position around Ballybran, it causes the storms to become extremely violent, even to Ballybran’s standards, a period called “Passover.”

Unnatural Satellites: There are 16 satellites orbiting the planet scanning the atmosphere for changes in the systems that influence the weather on Ballybran.

Natural and Species History: 
- Natural history: Little is known about the natural history of Ballybran and how the Crystal Ranges were formed, but it is theorised that the extreme heat and the stress of the three moon’s gravitational pull on the planet forced the crystal to the surface.
- Colonisation history: In a routine explore and evaluate search for habitable planets for colonisation, the planets around the sun, Scoria, were scanned. Only one of the planets had a suitable atmosphere and suitable gravity for human habitation. It also gave evidence of crystal and quartz in its inverted ranges. A team was dispatched with a man called Barry Milekey as its leader. The initial findings of the geologists indicated that Ballybran was a planet of immense potential, and samples were rushed back to Sector Research. The first crystal sample to be analysed was a blue porphyry type, proved that, due to peculiarities of its composition, a marvellous optical storage device. It allows computers to have instantaneous access to improbably large volumes of data stored in matrixes of exceptionally small dimensions. For example, the crystals fine grain synapse structure enabled even a 1cm3 piece to store up to 10 Zettabytes of data which is equivalent of 10,737,418,240 Terabytes. It was Milekey's discovery, however, of the so called black quarts, which, under normal circumstances is neither black nor quartz, which led to the complete revolution of interstellar communications. Owing to its thermal characteristics, black crystal is a pigmented rock crystal, is translucent in natural light. Under certain types of magnetic stress, black crystal, for lack of better description, absorbs all light and seems to become matte black in colour, which attributes to its name. Milekey had observed this phenomenon when he chipped the first lump from the black crystal face.
 
Again by accident, while being examined by the crystallographers, the substance's true properties were discovered.  If two identical segments of black quartz were subjected to synchronized magnetic induction, a two-way communication link was established between the crystal segments.  When investigators increased the distance between the samples, it was discovered that, unlike other electromagnetic phenomena, black quartz eliminated the time lag and allowed for instantaneous communication between the two points in space.
 
Concurrent with the laboratory discoveries and proposed applications of the new crystals, there came the first of several problems to be solved in the mining of this rich source. The first investigation team had only gathered up loose chips of the various types of crystal, or such larger chunks as had already been fractured from the crystal faces.

In attempts to cut with ordinary carbon-10 blades, the crystal had shattered.  Laser cutters were tried, but they shattered, melted, or damaged the crystal. The habit of one of the crystallographers of singing as he worked led to an unexpected solution.  The man noticed that some crystal faces would resonate to his voice, and he suggested the use of a subsonic cutter.  Though not completely successful at first, experiments along this line finally produced the sophisticated audio pickup that resonated, amplified, and reduced the required note to set the sub-sonic diamond blade.
 
Once the problem of wrestling unblemished crystals from the face was solved, Ballybran was opened to private miners so that they could make a small fortune selling the crystals to the open market.

During the next spate of storms, those miners who heeded the warnings for oncoming storms, promptly retreated from the crystal ranges and reached the sheltered valley sustained no injury.  The ones who ignored the warnings were discovered in the storm's wake, either dead or completely mad.  Storm winds blowing across the resonant crystal range coaxed enough sonics from the sensitive rock to shatter unprotected minds.
 
Keenly aware of the unexplained deaths of the nine miners, everyone became conscious of previously ignored physical discomforts. The meditechs began filing reports of disorientation, hypo- and hyperthermic spells, erratic sense perceptions, muscular spasm and weakness among the minors and anyone living on the planet.  

No one in the several base camps escaped the minor ailments.  Most of the symptoms passed within a week, but some victims found one sense or another, in most cases hearing, to be affected.  The medical team was hastily increased in size to deal with the situation, and everyone was put through exhaustive tests.  At first, crystal was suspected of inducing the symptoms. However, those handling the crystal off-planet appeared unharmed by contact, while meteorologists and support technicians who never touched the crystals on Ballybran, were also affected.  Crystal was determined not to be the source of the strange ailments affecting the planet inhabitants.  The planet's ecology then became the prime target for intensive examination, and this area of investigation proved positive.  The spore producing the symptoms was soon isolated, and the planet Ballybran was placed on Code 4 as a preventive measure to prevent anyone from landing on the planet and never being able to leave.

The Heptite Guild was established on the planet surface, with a Moon Base being built on Shankill to act as the planet’s landing point. The Heptite Guild was established to help people adapt to the planet and the spore while supporting the Crystal Singers who mined the crystal. Due to the dangers and the fact that many people going down to the planet surface will never leave again, the Heptite Guild is banned from active recruiting. Currently, only Singers are allowed to leave the planet (Providing they mine enough to afford to go off-world). Support staff cannot leave the planet surface as they do not have enough credits to do so. They are also not subject to the same stresses that Crystal Singers go through.

The Guild in recent years, was purchased by the ExoSinian Eldyr Corporation who immediately got to work improving the facilities of the Guild to make the mining safer for the miners as well as to make life more comfortable for those that live their life on the planet. They now also provide the system protection, as the Guild was subject to frequent raids by the NRSA.

Planet Surface: Ballybran has a lot more ocean to land mass, with a vast majority of the landmass being made up of the crystal ranges over twelve continents. There are some sections of the landmass which is dedicated to research, facility buildings and farming.

Ecology: The ecology of Ballybran is Silicon based, and not Carbon based like many planets and species.

• Plant Life: The local plant life is inedible due to its silicon based ecology. However Carbon based plant life can be grown on the planet.
• Animal Life: There is little to no animal life on Ballybran.
• Insect Life: There is little to no insect life on Ballybran.
• Sea Life: There is little to no Sea life on Ballybran.
• Microbiological Life: The most known about microbe on Ballybran is the spore, which is a microbial symbiont. This Spore can form a symbiotic "bridge" between carbon based lifeforms and the silicon based life forms of Ballybran as it is a carbon silicate, able to work with both carbon and silicon based life forms. The formation of the bridge is usually metabolically traumatic: a "Transition Sickness," as it is called, however some recruits have a Milekey Transition which shows no symptoms and allows for maximum adaptation. They are also sensitive to black crystal, but such adaptations are extremely rare (Do NOT have your character have a Milekey adaptation unless it is approved by me). The transition sickness can affect the recruits between ten to twenty days since first day on the planet. When they fall ill, they are immediately taken the medical facility to make them as comfortable as possible as their body adapts to the spore. Anyone going through the adaptation will experience a high fever, flashes of hot and cold, severe convulsions, blinding headaches and coughing fits that will leave you exhausted. Many do not remember much while going through the adaptation illness due to their fevered state. Someone who refuses to allow the spore to establish itself risks death, however deaths are rare in the Heptite Guild as their medical staff are fully trained on how to lesson the risk of death. 
  
  After adaptation, it can take up to twenty weeks for the spore to establish itself properly within the host’s body. Occasionally after passing through the adaptation, one or more senses may be weakened and reduced, but others may be greatly amplified such as a significant improvement in visual acuity, tactile perceptions, nerve conduction and cellular adaptation. Depending on how the spore affects the senses will determine what position the recruit is placed in. The symbiont affects the DNA/RNA pattern of the body; extending the life span considerably (Some can live more than 200 years. In fact some crabs and worms in the research labs are 400 years old) as well as giving the host regeneration abilities and heal much quicker than other humans/species. It also increases tolerance to extreme heat, cold and pain. Some of the side effects that the symbiont has are that the eyes can see into the UV or IR spectrums, with an ability in some to sense magnetic fields. Increased tactile sensitivity (Which has allowed some artistically inclined Singers to produce some of the most treasured art of modern times) is also another effect of the spore adaptation. There is no way to predict what effect the spore will have on any individual. The Symbiont is also an inbuilt warning for whenever there is going to be a mach storm, alerting the host so that it can get out of the ranges and into the safety of the guild. The disadvantage to this is that the older the host, the less likely the symbiont is of warning the Singer as it becomes less effective through age.
  
  If the spore does not adapt properly to the carbon based biological system of humans and other species, then death of the host occurs and the body crystallises. Also, when adapted to the spore, it makes the host irreversibly sterile as the genetic code of the host [the parts of the DNA that deal with heredity and propagation] are chemically altered, increasing personal survival traits as opposed to racial survival. If the Singer were to leave the planet, they must return within 400 days [The very maximum they can stay away. It is always recommended to have 250 days away] to allow the spore to recharge otherwise the host will die an unpleasant death as the death occurs from the host aging within a period inversely related to the host’s elapsed life span )As in they age in a very short amount of time. They suffer fever and convulsions before they die). Not long after adapting to the spore, and first cutting crystal, the spore affects the memory of the Singer. It is not long before Singers forget where they come from, who are their friends and family. This can take up to a few decades to affect them. Singers usually keep a log, which is voice restricted so only they can access it. The memory loss occurs more when the Singer is mining crystal. When a Singer has been mining crystal for too long, they get what is called a “Crystal Resonance.” This makes any non-singers (Even support staff on Ballybran) very uncomfortable around the Singer. It can make the body hair for non-singers to stand up on end. This can cause the Singer to become even more irritable and tense. Only going away from Ballybran for an extended period of time can cure this. As well as lots of Radiant Baths.

Planet Access: Warning: Unauthorized landing on Ballybran interdicted by Heptite Guild, section 907, code 4, paragraphs 78-90. No ship can land on the planet directly, and will be required to land on the Shankill Moon Base. 

Applications for consideration of membership to the Heptite Guild requires physical fitness test SG-1, Psychological Profile SG-1, Education level 3 preferred but not required. Perfect and absolute pitch both in perception and reproduction of the tonal quality. Application made only through Heptite Guild office(s): Shankill Moon Base in the Main Reception Facility and the Andromeda One Space Station in the Main Reception Facility. While no longer under the rules of the Earth Alliance, the Heptite Guild require full disclosure of all dangers inherent in profession to prospective candidates once physical, psychological and aptitude tests have been passed to the satisfaction of the Guild Examining Board.. 

If, after all the dangers of Ballybran have been disclosed, the recruit decides not to go through with the recruitment process, then their memory of what they have been told is wiped and the memory is replaced with one of oversleeping and having a leisurely breakfast.

Meteorology: The weather on Ballybran can have the same patterns as planets such as Earth; however there are a couple of exceptions.

Mach Storms: Extremely violent storms that have powerful winds that resonate across the crystal in the ranges, causing strong sonics that shatter any unprotected minds and leaves anyone caught in it mad or dead. As the ranges of Ballybran extend downwards, some would think that going down would protect against the storms wrath, however that assumption is incorrect as it traps the person and it will not protect anyone from the sonics created by the wind.

Passover: When all three of the moons orbits are briefly synchronised. Along with the stars sunspot activity, this causes extremely violent mach storms where the sonics can penetrate deep underground where all the singers and the support staff live. Any singers that can get off the planet are encouraged to do so; however most do not mine enough crystal to get the required amount of credits to get off world at Passover. Before Passover, the symbiont becomes very demanding, causing the host to become extremely hungry every couple of hours and able to consume huge amounts of food during one eating session. Once Passover begins, the hosts appetite dies down and they ‘hibernate’ throughout the whole Passover, although that alone does not protect the host entirely from the Passover sonics.

Political stance: Ballybran is run by the Guild Master who is in charge of the Heptite Guild and deal with all decisions. It is a mining Guild so does not have any political government and deals in the mining and selling of its unique crystal. 

Urbanisation spread: There is not much urbanisation on Ballybran as the planet’s landmass is mainly crystal ranges. There are, however, farms dedicated to growing Carbon based crops. There are not many buildings on the surface of Ballybran, only going up a few stories, as most of the buildings are dedicated to sled hangers and sorting areas for the crystal. Most of the structures are underground where the singers and support staff live. The higher the rank, the lower down their quarters are. This is because the sonics from Passover mach storms can reach deep under the surface. Protective measures are put in place such as sound mufflers worn over the ears. And for some being placed in radiant baths in the medical facility with hearing cut off just to make them comfortable, however they do not cut out everything. The last measure is usually for new Singers who have done their first cut near Passover.

Biomes: Seas and rugged crystal ranges as well as farm lands are the kinds of biomes encountered on the planet.
    
Inhabitants: The Heptite Guild is led by the Guild Master, with Chiefs of all sections coming underneath him. Then the Crystal Singers rank underneath them. There are currently 4,352 Crystal Singers living and mining on Ballybran. There is 20,632 support staff that keep the Singers in the ranges. 

Recruits: The moment they decide to go through with joining the Guild, they are subject to being charged for any training that they receive. They are charged for the flight down to the planet, the instruction that they receive from their instructor, flight training, accommodation, their first sled and their cutter.  They do not have to pay up front, and can work their debt off. It is usually paid off during the first two years of their employment, which, considering how long they will live is not long at all. If there is an incoming storm, recruits will be rallied to help unload the ships and then to help sort the crystal. And then afterwards cleaning the sleds for the Singers to go back out to the ranges. They get paid for the unloading of the crystal, and even danger pay for it due to the dangers involved. They get paid for sorting the crystal and cleaning out the sleds, both subject to a bonus if done quickly. These can help eat away at the debt of their recruitment. The smallest class the Guild will teach is 30 students, so any applicants will have to wait until there are 30 in the class before they will be moved on. When taken down to the planet surface, they are giving a class designation. The designation is the number of which class they are now (For example Class 425 is the 425th class to be taught on the planet). They are shown to a recruits lounge which has enough seating for the class, a catering unit and private sleeping quarters down a corridor, complete with en-suite bathroom. 

Technology: They have the standard Galactic technology with space ships, Moon base, shuttles, catering units, etc. The Singers each have their own personal flying vehicles, called Sleds. It’s like a shuttle. It contains the pilot’s cockpit, sleeping area, catering area as well as the reinforced storage area that contains the cartons that the crystals are placed. One of the Singers favourite pieces of technology is the baths, which can be found in both recruit and singer quarters, with the Singers baths having more options. The baths can be set for various bath types, including a type called a ‘Radiant’ bath. It is a yellow goo like substance that cleans deeply as well as ease the ache out of very tired muscles. 

Crystals and Crystal Singing: The crystals are mined from the ranges, from large crystal deposits on the surface. To be mined, a special sonic cutter is required. Each Singer has their own cutter that is made personally for them and cannot be used by anyone else. The cutter works by the Singer singing and tuning the cutter to the tone and pitch that they have set (Like A minor). They then cut the crystal in the desired shape. The crystal is tuned to the note that the Miner Sung (So if they sung an A minor note, then the crystal will become A minor). Crystals that come in sets that fit together are more valuable and bring in more credits, especially if they vary in notes (Like A minor, A Major etcetc). Each Singer ‘Claims’ a place where they mine their crystal, through use of using a special paint painted on the rocks that indicates that there is an active Singer there. Singers are not allowed to jump claims and mine crystal in another’s claim. Doing such a thing is subject to being punished severely. Singers can mark where their claim on the computer of their sled (Providing it is not damaged beyond repair), although the mach storms and Passover can change what the ranges appear so it is not 100% reliable. Although after Singers have cut a claim, they can sense when they are nearby as they are attuned to the crystal. To find a crystal face in the first place, the Singer will need to search in the sunlight since sun warmed crystal create sounds and sing which a Crystal Singer can hear. Crystal can react to the singer if they talk, sing, hum or laugh. It is also easier to cut the crystal in the sunlight as it is easier to see the crystal as well as setting the tune.

As soon as they have cut, they must wrap the crystal and place it in the carton. Otherwise the Singer will end up communicating with the crystal for hours on end. When communicating with the crystal, the Singer is unaware of the passage of time. This link can be broken by a cloud passing over the sun or by the sun setting. The sled that they own have many warnings that are both loud and annoying whenever a mach storm is incoming. The best warning that a Singer has is their symbiont as it warns the Singer of a storm hours before the warnings in the sled go off. When they come back to the Guild, their precious load is immediately unloaded by any staff available (Which is a dangerous task if the storm is above them as it makes it dangerous to fly so sleds can crash and the ferocious wind can knock people over). Over the next few days the crystal is sorted and the credits counted for each crystal. What is wanted/needed by the market will determine how much each crystal is worth and therefore what each Singer gets. After the total amount of their crystals is calculated, a 6% tithe is given to the Guild. This is required to keep the support staff paid and also to keep their medical treatment free. When they are fresh from the ranges, Crystal Singers have an extremely short temper and are prone to snapping and irritability. They tend to look gaunt and haggard as they are so involved with mining crystal that they forget to eat. Most also forget to bath.

Code 4: Ballybran has several dangers which must be revealed to all hopeful applicants. There are three main dangers to Ballybran. The Mach storms (Passover is included in this), crystallisation through death after a failed adaptation, and death through fireballs: The crystal ranges can build up localized high-voltage and sonic charges near which ordinary comm units do not operate properly, nor do other types of electrical equipment, some of which are necessary to the operation of sleds and conveniences.  Fireballs can occur.  And, despite all the precautions, a Singer can be volatilized into vapour.

[Neptune 1,493]

NPC Characters.

This post highlights some important NPCs that any character visiting or working at the Heptite Guild may encounter during their time there.

Guild Master

Name: Aedan Longton
Age: 57
Rank: Guild Master
Race: Taru’zenari
Will have sex with Singers: Not at this time.
Sexuality: Hetero-sexual.
Description: Aedan is a quiet, strong man. He's very calm in stressful situations but he is always friendly to all staff on Ballybran. However he can be stern if a Singer has errored and will not let anyone get away with causing trouble. But he makes himself available to anyone that has any problems. He's quite open-minded and is always aiming to improve the Heptite Guild. Kira Longton is his sister.

Chief Doctor

Name: Kira Longton
Age: 51
Rank: Chief Medical Officer/ Chief Doctor
Race: Taru’zenari
Will have sex with Singers: Not at this time.
Sexuality: Hetero-sexual.
Description: Kira is a kind, compassionate woman. She treats all medical situations seriously. Even when a patient is having severe convulsions, she will remain calm and clear headed. She works in a very efficient manner, and doesn't like people getting in the way when she's trying to work. She's very friendly, making friends easily and her calm and compassionate nature makes her someone easy to talk to. She's not judgemental and accepts everyone for who they are. She is Aedan's younger sister.

Sorting Officer

Name: Amy-Leigh Jefferson
Age: 62
Rank: Chief of Sorting.
Race: Kitsune
Will have sex with Singers: Definitely.
Sexuality: Bi-sexual, but much prefers men.
Description: She's a fun, bubbly person who loves a good chat and having many friends. She will happily sit with people, chat and have a good time with them. She is also quite promiscuous. When it comes to her job, she is completely serious and does not tolerate foolishness or incompetency and will quickly tell someone when they're doing something wrong.

Student Tutor

Name: Dale Trueman
Age: 110
Rank: Tutor.
Race: Human.
Will have sex with Singers: Yes.
Sexuality: Homo-sexual.
Description: Dale is a very serious man, and doesn't appear to have any kind of fun. When dealing with students, he is very calm and does not react to hostile questions or joking. He is like a walking encyclopaedia and can recite almost everything that is on their computers. He will do so in a manner that is almost robotic, as he had an eidetic memory and simply recites things from memory.

Crystal Singer on the Shankill Moon base

Name: Ebony Keywood
Age: 52
Rank: Crystal Singer.
Race: Neko.
Will have sex with Singers: Yes.
Sexuality: Bi-sexual.
Description: Ebony is a quiet, sultry woman. She likes to flirt, but not the giggly girl kind. She gives off an air of confidence, and is not afraid to say what is on her mind. She has a dark sense of humour, but doesn't laugh that often. She is not a submissive woman, but is willing to have sex with students. She is usually found on the Moon base, Shankill, introducing new applicants to the career of Crystal Singing.