Raxxla

Overview

A fable as old as space travel itself, a mystery and an enigma: Raxxla. The very name causes conversation to cease, and meaningful glances to be exchanged.

The younger generation mocks it, until quelled by stern glares from their greybeard elders. Parents tell their offspring the story of a ghost planet, beyond witchspace, lost in the void. The name is interspersed throughout popular culture as a synonym for futility.

Pervading opinion suggests it is indeed a planet, but no one has ever seen it and lived to tell the tale. Its very existence is in doubt, its reputation spread only by hearsay via notorious borderland trading posts on the edge of inhabited space, far from civilisation.

Where there is any overlap in the reports that have come back, they seem to suggest Raxxla contains some kind of alien construct; a gateway or portal to... somewhere else. The nature of this device remains unclear.

A number of missions have been undertaken with the express purpose of locating Raxxla, some official, others less so. Some pundits have suggested Raxxla is guarded by a corps of ruthless, power crazed Elitists who will stop at nothing to preserve their anonymity.

A planet older than the Galaxy itself, a gateway to different dimensions or a power base for a clandestine group of Elite combateers; Raxxla remains as inexplicable as it is elusive.

Myths

There are many myths surrounding Raxxla. Some of them include:

• That it is a planet, older than the Galaxy itself.
• It is a gateway to different dimensions and time.
• INRA has a base established on the planet, thus allowing them access to the gateways above; this has featured in much FEU, such as Jason Togneri's Darkness Falls.

Hunt for the Pot of Gold

Like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, many have tried to find Raxxla. No one has yet succeeded, or even returned from such an expedition, but there seems to be no shortage of crazy folk willing to slip berth and go questing.

Does it exist or not? A gateway to riches or nothing more than a story concocted after one too many Anlian heavy-gins in the local coriolis bar?

As legends go, Raxxla is one of the least well supported myths on record; no memrecs, no visios, not even a vaguely plausible artifact of any kind. The only thing it has going for it is a vague similarity in the stories and that anybody who goes looking for it never comes back in one piece, physically or mentally – hardly convincing proof. Ask yourself how an entire planet can remain hidden for centuries.

Reality

When such legendary myths are interwined with talk of INRA, there is only one thing you can believe: Don't believe everything you hear. The sad fact is that you will only ever find out the truth if you are a member of INRA and then you wont be able to tell anyone.

Raxxla is to be featured in the upcoming short story Mutabilis, the sequel to Status Quo by Drew Wagar