LOG_038_GEOSYNC

Above: the HKC orbital research station Ouroboros in its first year of operation. The research station was decommissioned after 23 years of service when a faulty airlock alignment led to a rapid decompression of over half of the inner compartments and the loss of a third of its personnel. In the two years that followed the accident, large and intact pieces were scrapped and recycled, while smaller debris was left to eventually deorbit and burn up in atmo.

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A flight of VD-10s in the cold morning skies of HKC 2901 c.

The VD-10 Skate is a medium-range escort fighter, reconnaissance craft, and, historically, as fighter-bombers. More maneuverable than Cormorant-class seagliders, they often accompany the lumbering freight aircraft of Kaua Merchant Navy (KMN) in groups of three to six as they cruise along in-atmo trade routes. Though agile, its small load capacity and low aspect ratio wings greatly limit their range; its detractors commonly criticize the comparatively high fuel demands, its middling performance across its variety of roles, and the reliability issues that arose early in its development. With changing interests and a declining need for aggressive escort fighters, the KMN eventually phased out the Skate in favor of newer, more economic designs.