033. ARK Mandate Takes Flight

AGLOSTARROS - The Aglostarros University Museum today unveiled the ARK Mandate, a pan-galactic project with the goal of “preserving and protecting the rare and unique”. It is a direct response to the destruction of the planet Harthoe last month, which many still suspect was a result of sabotage.

The ARK Mandate will see teams, operating from retrofitted Zius-class starships, visit endangered and terminal worlds to retrieve unique organic specimens for preservation in ARK Stations throughout the galaxy.

At a press event, Curator Endelle Stroth explained that “the Harthoe disaster was a wake-up call to the galactic community. It is no longer enough for us to marvel at the wonders of our galaxy; we have a duty to step up against those who would threaten or hoard those wonders.”

Stroth has been notably vocal in blaming Baroness Dorn Oramande, owner of Harthoe’s famed Compass Rose Cerite, for the planet’s destruction. The ARK Mandate is seen as a shot across the bow of private collectors like the Oramandes, though ARK teams will also face natural threats such as stellar anomalies and climate decline.

The Mandate marks the first major collaboration between the governments of the Trifold Union, with Stroth and her Museum presiding. The Curator stated that “ARK is distinct from Project Centennial, but the two are undoubtedly connected in spirit.” She was quick to distance the Mandate from the growing militarisation of the Conglomerate’s frontier outposts.

See today’s Culture magazine for fold-out diagrams of the ARK starships and stations.