[b]GALACTIC UPDATE[/b]
[b][u]LUNARIAN SPHERE[/b][/u]
The first journey ended with a great success. 2.7 parsecs away lay a viable, thriving solar system with 5 planets. The first of two ships remained, while the other plotted in additional coordinates and jumped into the void.
-- [b]First Jump[/b]:
-- [b]J1[/b]: A relatively small gas giant with a hydrogen/helium atmosphere. A large number of small, irregularly shaped moons orbit close to the planet. [UNINHABITABLE]
-- [b]J2[/b]: A small rocky planet in the Lagrange point of a gas giant. [UNINHABITABLE: [b]NO VIABLE RESOURCES[/b]]
-- [b]J3[/b]: A planet consisting mostly of carbon, with a dense diamond core, the planet resembles an earthen desert. [HABITABLE:]
-- [b]J4[/b]: A warm Earth-like planet with vast grassland plains. It has no axial tilt, giving it a mild and predictable climate. [HABITABLE:]
-- [b]J5[/b]: A terrestrial planet with an extremely slow axial rotation. Days and nights here can last as long as an Earth-week (depending on the season). [UNINHABITABLE: [b]ATMPOSPHERE PREVALENT WITH HEAVY RADIATION[/b]]

The second exploration ship that jumped to the Galactic East did not return.

[b][u]STAR EMPIRE OF AUROLIUS[/b][/u]
The colony ships settled without error, but the world's atmosphere was a mixture of nitrogen, hydrogen and argon gas -- which made it difficult to breathe for long periods of time. Pressurized suits were required but the initial semblance of society became an inevitability within the twelve months the Empire provided for the colonization efforts. Freighters began to move back and forth between the home planet and this new, desert world of theirs.

The ships exploration vessel [i]Faust[/i], the Light Cruiser [i]SES Jarik[/i] and a pair of Destroyers were packed with observational equipment, a small cadre of marines and a host of scientists ranging from astrobiologists, ecologists and geologists were packed aboard the long, sleek [i]Faust[/i] and jumped into the void. Twelve weeks later they returned to Aurolius. There was a solar system with twelve planets. Identified as [b]S1[/b] all the way to [b]S12[/b].
-- [b]S1[/b]: Close near the sun, largely martian environment.
-- [b]S2[/b]: A gas giant covered in a single ring of asteroids.
-- [b]S3[/b]: A diverse, terran world that is tidally locked.
-- [b]S4[/b]: Entirely aquatic, in a close rotating with S5.
-- [b]S5[/b]: Entirely aquatic, locked in a rotation less than a million miles away from S4.
-- [b]S6[/b]: Entirely gaseous planet. Majority helium gas.
-- [b]S7[/b]: A rocky world with dormant volcano's and mountain ranges that make your homeworld's tallest mountains look like grassy hills.
-- [b]S8[/b]: A terran world, mostly water with archipelago's abound. Increased revolutions make winds very hostile.
-- [b]S9[/b]: A huge planet. Mostly savannah, but because of the size of the planet gravity is a large factor.
-- [b]S10[/b]: A completely martian planet with 2 similarly designed moons.
-- [b]S11[/b]: A cratered, atmosphereless planet that resembles an Earthen moon. 
-- [b]S12[/b]: Entirely arctic planet. So far on the edge of the solar system that even during daytime it seems dim.

[b][u]RAKYOVIIL ASCENDANCY[/b][/u]
Reports came back at the end of the year of two functioning solar systems. The first they traveled to held four worlds, the second two.

-- [b]A1[/b]: A flat, muddy planet. There are no oceans, instead much of the surface is covered with a shallow layer of water. A single large moon creates a strong tidal effect, essentially making the entire planet a tidal mudflat.
-- [b]A2[/b]: A large gas giant with a dense sulfur dioxide atmosphere. The planet orbits close to its parent star and supports a number of small rocky moons.
-- [b]A3[/b]: An ocean world with a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere. Only a single island-continent rises above the waves.
-- [b]A4[/b]: A small Earth-like planet with approximately half the gravity of Earth. Grasslands cover the entire surface

-- [b]K1[/b]: A small lifeless rock with an extremely thin nitrogen atmosphere. Its surface is pitted with large impact craters.
-- [b]K2[/b]: A hot and humid world known for its many rivers and swamps, and for its dark, damp forests