Yr'rjee Storm
Gamma, Beta, and X-rays— Oh my!
Yr'rjee Storms are radiation storms that can build up and travel through clouds along the WayHall routes. These storms are dangerous as the resulting radiation can injure or kill crew and fry a ships systems, leaving them stranded within the Wayhall.
Be sure to read up on any travel warnings before entering a Wayhall. Also keep a Dosimeter handy on your vessel.
Travelling through the WayHall was a coin flip. Either it was completely dead and boring for weeks straight or it was a pants-voiding venture filled with Violence or Yr'rjee storms or even both.
Today, whatever day it was now in the colorful prism of inter-galactic travel, Calhoon found himself travelling on the tail of a Yr'rjee storm. The FWV Small Fry beeped out a constant stream of sievert measurements. With his careful plotting, the Geartheartmanaged to keep the exposure to a minimum, but even still the eerie static of electromagnetic interference echoed through the bridge.
"I hate that sound..." A deep timbred voice made itself known.
"Morning Love," Calhoon ushered Ja-guen into the bridge, "Sleep well?"
"Hard to sleep when I feel my fur tingling." The Ral-mi had to bend down to get through the human-sized door, and flopped himself by Calhoon in the only other free chair on the bridge.
Calhoon smiled, having company with him made this trips far more tolerable especially when it was his new-found love.
"Aw you poor thing. This Yr'rjee's as wide as the entire channel. I've been cutting through the eddies of it."
Ja-guen looked out the bridge camera, the copper patterning in his black fur reflected the kaleidoscope of colors. "How can you actually see the storm through this? It's just a bunch of colors for me."
"Usually you can't, I've heard you'll see a real bad storm by the strong blue glow of ionization." Calhoon leaned over to look out the same console. "In a ship this size, if we saw that I'm pretty sure we'd be tasting metal and coughing up blood."
Yr'rjee Storms impact the travel paths of the WayHall and can leak out of Wayhall gates.
Exposure to a Yr'rjee storm can fry equipment and bath crew in dangerous dosages of raditation.
The Filja Scale (1-5): Named after the Human scientist who first flew into a Yr'rjee storm to mtake measurements.
Protection and Exposure
The amount of radiation put off by the strongest Yr'rjee storm is enough to penetrate multiple layers of armor. Compounding to ths it can be difficult to tell just how strong the radiation within the storm is.
That isn't to say protection isn't available, it's just not guaranteed protection. Most ships carry some protection from mild storms thanks to the materials used in wayship construction. A few layers of polyethelene or heavy metals will protect against the majority of the storms that can be encountered.
Ships can get purchase and install extra reinforcement to protect both electronics and crew/cargo.
Nine outta ten pilots agree that the best way to protect yourself from a Yr'rjee is to not drive into the thing.
Most ships have a layer of polyethelene and heavy metal, with an extra layer around living quarters and crew spaces.
The only better protection is more layers of armor to prevent radiation.
The best protection is to not enter the storm, using radiation measuring equipment can help pilots avoid the storm.
Ja-guen sat tight in his chair, watching the glow through the camera. Calhoon banked and adjusted thrust, sending them forward through the river of light.
"Can I borrow your arm?" Calhoon asked and offered his upturned palm. His eyes were glewed to his screen of readouts.
Expecting nothing more than a hand hold, Ja-guen set his palm in Calhoon's own.
Not satisfied, Calhoon traced his hands through the thick coat of fur of Ja-guen's forearms.
"What are you doing?" Ja-guen questioned, his answer came a moment later, as the fur begin to stand on end. "Oh no."
Calhoon's tracing fingertips arced soft crackles of static shock. "Ain't that just neat? There's so much electromagnetic activity near a Yr'rjee Storm."
Ja-guen growled in displeasure. "This doesn't feel safe."
Calhoon wheezed in amusement, "Oh! You look so fluffy, Love!"
Ja-guen's grimace turned into a grin. "Wanna see an energy spell, love?" Without waiting for a response, Ja-guen tapped at his shoulder and sent all his collected energy right into the poor Calhoon.
The ship jolted as much as Calhoon did, and their combined laughter brought tears to Calhoon's eyes.
"You are so lucky I love you." Calhoon caught his breath, and righted the craft.
"If I get cancer for a good laugh, I'm going to be really upset with you." His half joke was not lost on Calhoon, who piloted them away from the storms outer waves.
Prediction and Warnings
Wayhall Measurement Station
Well-traveled Wayhalls will have a Measurement Station either in or out of the Wayhall entrance. These specialized stations are reinforced with protection layers as well as equipped with radiation measuring equipment.
These stations are responsible for sending alerts and navigation suggestions for ships entering the Wayhall. They do have the ability to shut down travel completely to the gate if it is too dangerous on the other side.
The Chasers
Whether for research, thrill, or reputation, there are Wayships specialized to travel through Yr'rjee storms to get readings and scientific data. These Chasers can help alert Wayhall stations of dangerous situations.
Alert System
Before flight into any Wayhall, pilots will be given a message on the current forecast and any active warnings on the Wayhall.
These messages include if available, the latest Yr'rjee Storm forecast and detection. A flag design is used to quickly communicate the severity of the situation.
A blue flag with green stripes:
Clear sailing with little ambient radiation.
Blue corners and tan center:
Potentially dangerous conditions for organic exposure.
Yellow corners and tan center:
Spikes of radiation are strong enough to disable electronics.
A red diamond on a yellow background:
Entry to the Wayhall is not allowed. Lethal radiation storm.
The Filja Scale
| Filja # | Description | Sieverts | Occurance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invisible, minor gamma radiation, primarily beta radiation. | 1-100 uSieverts | Common |
| 2 | Invisible, gamma radiation intensity increases | 100-1000 uSieverts | Common |
| 3 | Invisible, exposure to storm even through basic protection can prove fatal. | 1000-10000 uSieverts | Rare |
| 4 | Light blue glow of ionization, unprotected electronics can fry. | 10 - 100 Sieverts | Very Rare |
| 5 | Bright blue ionization, unusual visual distortion. Lethal no mater the protection | 100+ Sieverts | Historic |
The Loss of the A.W.S Yr'rjee
The Yr'rjee storm was not well understood and not even named in the early days of travel between Jhoutai & Eden. The WayHall travel between the two worlds was relatively easy to manage with basic shielding.
An Aempis Wayfaring Ship carrying supplies and colonists to what was then called Earth arrived from the Wayhall. The ship had been completely disabled and with it's crew clinging to life. The electronics of the vessel were completely fried. The few crew that survived the first hour managed to recollect a sudden onset of violent sickness, decay and a complete loss of power.
The Yr'rjee Vessel was quarantined in orbit around the Wayhall for two weeks as it was scrubbed and checked. Scientists found extreme dosages of radiation clinging to nearly every surface of the vessel. Only the most internal portions of the ship were clean enough to be survivable. This included some of the cleaning crew, who had bunked near the center of the ship.
I just remember the terrible taste of copper in my mouth, and I wasn't the only one.
Our fur tingled, and soon it felt as if my insides were being rearranged.
Then there was blood, so much blood. My fur came out in horrifying clumps.
I'd not wish our fate wished on anyone.
Response
In response to the event, the travel between Jhoutai and Earth ground to a halt. Ships built up on either side.
On Eden's side, after two days of economic standstill a squad of unmanned vehicles flew through the Wayhall. Through thick reinforced glass, the vessels recorded blue waves of ionization, warping and twisting the normally iridescent colors of the Wayhall. The high range dosemeter hit a maximum reading of 890 Seiverts.
The storm lasted for only three days, but brought significant reform to wayfaring regulation. The new phenomena garnered the name Yr'rjee Storm in memoram to it's first casuality.
Note: Using radiation readings from the unmanned vehicles, the storm that killed the Yr'rjee was a 4 on the Filja Scale.
Ooo, book two excerpts. :eyes: Sounds horrifying, though. Definitely want to keep awaaaaay from the storms.
Explore Etrea | March of 31 Tales
Hah! Well it's just a little something special for those reading, it's actually taking place between books!