The "Location," an extraordinary marvel known as the Aethelgard Preservation, began its existence as a mere fragment of a pre-Sundering orbital ring. This ancient structure miraculously survived the devastating cataclysm, floating through space as a silent testament to a forgotten era. It was a relic of immense scientific and historical value, awaiting rediscovery.
On 13 June 4125, the people of Gelime officially established this surviving fragment as the Aethelgard Preservation. For centuries thereafter, it served as a hallowed botanical museum, a zero-gravity vault meticulously preserving the genetic codes of flora from planets incinerated during the Sundering. Gelimian scientists treated this unique station as a holy site of The Axiom, dedicating themselves to studying the hyper-evolutionary traits of plants exposed to cosmic radiation within its delicate crystalline structure.
Approximately five years ago, this long period of peaceful scientific endeavor came to an abrupt end. The aggressive Red Sun Dominion seized the station during their brutal subjugation of the Elegara system, ripping it from Gelimian control. Renaming it Outpost 44, General Kaelen Thorne immediately repurposed the facility to serve the Dominion's militaristic ambitions.
The Dominion held no regard for preservation, viewing the aggressive, radiation-hardened flora as mere raw material for biological warfare and terraforming weapons. They brutally welded crude, utilitarian barracks and docking bays onto the station's intricate, original Shard, scarring its former elegance. This transformation plunged the station into a volatile new era.
Currently, Outpost 44 exists as a dangerous pressure cooker of conflicting agendas. The Red Sun Dominion actively attempts to extract Maltech weaponized spores from the hyper-evolved plant life. However, the conscripted Gelimian scientists, secretly working in league with the Null Hypothesis, subtly alter the containment parameters, hindering the Dominion's progress.
These defiant scientists aren't merely sabotaging the weapon program; they are protecting a far deeper secret nestled within the station's core. The Shard isn't just a museum; it houses a dormant Genesis Engine, a powerful device capable of revitalizing dead worlds. This beacon of hope, if discovered and perverted by the Dominion, would become a tool for total control.
As a result of these hidden conflicts and ongoing struggles, the station's current status is highly Unstable and operates strictly Under Martial Law. Its future hangs precariously in the balance, a battleground between destructive power and the faint glimmer of restoration.
