| Project Dynasty was a secret exploration initiative conceived by The Club in 3270. In response to the likelihood of a Thargoid civil war spilling into human space, The Club sought potential safe havens where humanity could flee in order to escape the conflict and survive. Project Dynasty was intended to identify Earth-like worlds beyond human space and mark them with beacons for later reference. The project focused on searching three galactic regions: the Scutum-Sagittarii Conflux, Hawking's Gap, and the Formidine Rift. In 3270, Frame Shift Drive-technology did not yet exist and Hyperspace travel took hours, and Auto Field-Maintenance Units were expensive experimental devices. Consequently, little exploration had been attempted outside the Bubble and the Conflux, Hawking's Gap, and the Formidine Rift were entirely uncharted; the journey to the Formidine Rift alone would take a full six months, not including the return trip. The Club funded the construction of the Zurara, a state-of-the-art Megaship designed specifically for long-term exploration and equipped with the latest AFMUs, and also prepared a number of Anacondas. Their mission was to locate viable Earth-like worlds in their target areas, and mark them with beacons to serve as waypoints when the Thargoids invaded the Bubble and humanity needed a safe haven. To ensure absolute secrecy for as long as possible, the Project Dynasty expeditions were never intended to return after they had completed their objectives. In the case of the Zurara, it was sabotaged and stranded in the Formidine Rift with no power by sleeper agents who had been conditioned to sacrifice themselves. The project's other ships presumably met similar fates. |
